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Job 31

1 - "I made a covenant with my eyes,how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
2 - For what is the portion from God above,and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 - Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4 - Doesn't he see my ways,and count all my steps?
5 - "If I have walked with falsehood,and my foot has hurried to deceit
6 - (let me be weighed in an even balance,that God may know my integrity);
7 - if my step has turned out of the way,if my heart walked after my eyes,if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8 - then let me sow, and let another eat.Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9 - "If my heart has been enticed to a woman,and I have laid wait at my neighbor's door,
10 - then let my wife grind for another,and let others sleep with her.
11 - For that would be a heinous crime.Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
12 - For it is a fire that consumes to destruction,and would root out all my increase.
13 - "If I have despised the cause of my male servantor of my female servant,when they contended with me;
14 - What then shall I do when God rises up?When he visits, what shall I answer him?
15 - Didn't he who made me in the womb make him?Didn't one fashion us in the womb?
16 - "If I have withheld the poor from their desire,or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 - or have eaten my morsel alone,and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 - (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,her I have guided from my mother's womb);
19 - if I have seen any perish for want of clothing,or that the needy had no covering;
20 - if his heart hasn't blessed me,if he hasn't been warmed with my sheep's fleece;
21 - if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,because I saw my help in the gate,
22 - then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade,and my arm be broken from the bone.
23 - For calamity from God is a terror to me.Because his majesty, I can do nothing.
24 - "If I have made gold my hope,and have said to the fine gold, 'You are my confidence;'
25 - If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,and because my hand had gotten much;
26 - if I have seen the sun when it shined,or the moon moving in splendor,
27 - and my heart has been secretly enticed,and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 - this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;for I should have denied the God who is above.
29 - "If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,or lifted up myself when evil found him
30 - (yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sinby asking his life with a curse);
31 - if the men of my tent have not said,'Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?'
32 - (the foreigner has not camped in the street,but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 - if like Adam I have covered my transgressions,by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 - because I feared the great multitude,and the contempt of families terrified me,so that I kept silence, and didn't go out of the door-
35 - oh that I had one to hear me!Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!Let the accuser write my indictment!
36 - Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;and I would bind it to me as a crown.
37 - I would declare to him the number of my steps.as a prince would I go near to him.
38 - If my land cries out against me,and its furrows weep together;
39 - if I have eaten its fruits without money,or have caused its owners to lose their life,
40 - let briers grow instead of wheat,and stinkweed instead of barley."The words of Job are ended.
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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