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Job 24

1 - "Why aren't times laid up by the Almighty?Why don't those who know him see his days?
2 - There are people who remove the landmarks.They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
3 - They drive away the donkey of the fatherless,and they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 - They turn the needy out of the way.The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 - Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,they go out to their work, seeking diligently for food.The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
6 - They cut their food in the field.They glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 - They lie all night naked without clothing,and have no covering in the cold.
8 - They are wet with the showers of the mountains,and embrace the rock for lack of a shelter.
9 - There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast,and take a pledge of the poor,
10 - So that they go around naked without clothing.Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
11 - They make oil within the walls of these men.They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.
12 - From out of the populous city, men groan.The soul of the wounded cries out,yet God doesn't regard the folly.
13 - "These are of those who rebel against the light.They don't know its ways,nor stay in its paths.
14 - The murderer rises with the light.He kills the poor and needy.In the night he is like a thief.
15 - The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight,saying, 'No eye shall see me.'He disguises his face.
16 - In the dark they dig through houses.They shut themselves up in the daytime.They don't know the light.
17 - For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness,for they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
18 - "They are foam on the surface of the waters.Their portion is cursed in the earth.They don't turn into the way of the vineyards.
19 - Drought and heat consume the snow waters,so does Sheol those who have sinned.
20 - The womb shall forget him.The worm shall feed sweetly on him.He shall be no more remembered.Unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.
21 - He devours the barren who don't bear.He shows no kindness to the widow.
22 - Yet God preserves the mighty by his power.He rises up who has no assurance of life.
23 - God gives them security, and they rest in it.His eyes are on their ways.
24 - They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone.Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others,and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
25 - If it isn't so now, who will prove me a liar,and make my speech worth nothing?"
Job Images and Notes

The Book of Job

Job 1:9-11 - Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:9-10 - Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job 19:25-27 - For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth: And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; [though] my reins be consumed within me.

Job 38:31-33 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
 

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survey - Job
Hebrew Name - Iyov "object of enmity" (meaning uncertain)
Greek Name - Iob (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Job (According to Tradition)
Date - 2180 BC Approximately
Theme - Trusting the Lord in the midst of evil and suffering
Types and Shadows - In Job Jesus is the ever-living redeemer

Large Flock
Shepherd with his Flock

Summary of The Book of Job

The Book of Job is the first of the five books of Hebrew poetry, and is also been classified with the wisdom literature of the Bible. Regardless of its classification the book of Job has been known to be one of the greatest literary writings in all of history. Except for a few chapters it has a very formal style of Hebrew poetry, and the beauty of the book is not in meter or rhyme, but in the use of parallelisms, repetition, and contrast.

The book of Job takes place in an area called in the Bible "the land of Uz" (Job 1:1), which is believed to have been the area southeast of Israel on the Arabian border. There is no way to identify this area precisely, and for that reason people from all the world wonder at the book of Job. Ancient tradition identifies Moses as the author of the book of Job, having traveled through the wilderness of Midian (Exodus 2:15) near the area that was believed to be Uz.

The man Job is a biblical patriarch who is well-known for his integrity and his devotion to God, he had great wealth and much happiness in life. The time came to prove Job's loyalty to God and he was deprived of all of his blessings. The book of Job was written like a historical poem, but was treated as an actual event in the Bible. The difficulty in the book of Job is over the nature and the cause of his afflictions, it touches on the philosophical discussion about the problem of evil, and human suffering which is a classic problem that has yet to be given a classic answer. The book of Job teaches that God's people should not envy the prosperity of the wicked, nor try to answer the question God as to why this happens and why the righteous are afflicted at times. There is no perfect solution to the problem of evil in the book of Job, and the obvious conclusion is that it is impossible for finite man to fathom the secrets of an infinite God. Job's miserable comforters (friends) were limited in their understanding of the suffering of man and how affliction enters into it. Job does not give a reason for his misery but he remained faithful to God and clearly denied that it was because of his sins against the Lord. The book of Job gives a good prologue that informs the reader of Job's faithfulness to God in the midst of affliction, and God's pleasure in Job for his faith and trust.

The big lesson to be learned from the Book of Job is that man does not know the reason for the things going on in his life, but he should trust the Lord at all times. Man can never plumbed the depths of God, and how God deals with each man and all men, therefore man is encourage to look steadfastly at the Lord, trust him and be devoted to him because God is loving and merciful and all of his purposes are part of his ultimate plan which no one can understand.

The events in the Book of Job may be summarized as follows :

Outline of the Book of Job

Job 1-2 forms a prologue in prose to the debates, giving a picture of Job's prosperity, the "wager" between God and Satan, and the resultant affliction which was Job's. Job 3-31 contain three series of speeches between Job and his companions, in which he defends himself against their assertion that he is being punished for some secret sin which is known only to God. Elihu's speech, recorded in Job 32-37, points out that there is a hidden purpose in God's discipline of Job. Job 38-41 contain the statements of God to the participants in the discussion; these witness to the futility of man's trying to comprehend the actions of God. Job 42 records the restoration of Job's lost blessings.

Quick Reference Map
Map of the Land of Israel in the Time of Job
Map of the Land of Israel in the Time of Job (Click to Enlarge)

The book of Job. Job is the name of the principal character in this book and the title is the same in Hebrew as it is in English. It is uncertain exactly when the book was written and who wrote it. It is interesting that the name of Yahweh appears over and over in the book of Job, and his name was unknown prior to the time of Moses (Exodus 6:2-3). The name of the Egypt is used in poetic form a couple times (Job 9:12-13, Job 26:12-13) and when it is used this way there is implications that the author of the book new about the exodus from Egypt. The big question in the book of Job is why do the righteous suffer? But this is not actually the main question in the book, the big question is seen in Job 1:9-11..."Why does Job remain faithful to God?"

The book goes on with the story about God and Satan arguing over Jobs reasons for obeying God and Job has various catastrophes which causes him to lose everything in order to test him of his faithfulness as to whether or not Job is serving God because of His wealth and God"s blessings of prosperity. There are also jobs friends who make a case against Job siding with what Satan was accusing Job of, their point of view was the Job was only serving God because of his wealth and prosperity. Job continually refutes them.

Joe desired to know the reason for his suffering and God remains silent concerning this. Instead the Lord asks Job questions that are too difficult for Job to answer, and God's point is that there are many things that Job will experience and mankind experiences in life that do not have a clear explanation, and it is more wise to not question God's wisdom. Gervis situation was no different than what is common to man.

Outline of the book of Job.
The beginning prologue Job 1:1-2:13.
Dialogs and debates 3:1-27:23.
Job's complaint 3:1-26
The first debate: 1-14:22
The second debate 15:1-21:34
The third debate 22:1-27:23
What is wisdom 28:1-28
The speeches 29:1-42:6
Job's speech 29:1-31:40
Elihu's speech 32:1-37:24
Yahweh's speech 38:1-42:6

Quick Reference Maps - Job

The Land of Israel and the Book of Genesis

The Ancient World and the Book of Genesis

Canaan Before Joshua

The First Day. Light.

Job Resources

More About the Book of Job
Job in the Picture Study Bible
Timeline of the Ancient World
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