The Holy Bible in 1 year - Day 102

     Good day! Let's continue to read the book of Job, with chapters 7 to 9 today. We continue with Job's lament from chapter 6, as an answer to the accusations brought over him by his friend. Job is discouraged by the frailty of human existence , by the shortness of his life, by the bounding nature of sin and by the lowliness that humans experience when taking God into perspective. Job asks God to stop scrutinizing and judging him in such a demanding way; for ,he asks, why does God take human beings so seriously, we who are so little compared to His absoluteness. And Job captures here an important aspect of God's love towards us: His trying nature for His trials are meant to be a sign of His love , to strengthen our faith and to make us be better than slaves to our sins, dwellers in our darkness. Job's words are very , very real and up-to-date because i, for one, often find myself having such feelings and angst. Then Bildad, another of Job's friends replies, again supporting the theory that Job's present tribulations are a consequence of his own sins. Because God, being just, supports the good and just men, and destroys the wicked and the evil . Bildad then urges Job to look towards the people of the past for confirmation of these. Job answers these by acknowledging God's almightiness , His omnipresence , His all-knowing character. And thus he cannot but hope that through prayer, God should listen to Job to ease his pain; and although Job sees a lot of inequity in the world he cannot ask God to come to judgement for this inequity , for God's will and vision is beyond the judgement of humans. And then Job asks for a very profound thing: "³³ Neither is there any daysman(mediator) betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

³⁴ Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:

³⁵ Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me." And one can see here how these words reflect our LORD Jesus Christ, who indeed puts Himself as a mediator and who replaces the fear that Job felt with love. And we can see here that this abyss that Job feels, which separates him from God is uncrossable for humans, but not so for God who crosses this abyss to bridge the gap. Job's words again look very up-to-date and we see, today, how blessed we are for the revelation of gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ.

JOB 7

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

² As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

³ So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

⁴ When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

⁵ My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.

⁶ My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.

⁷ O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.

⁸ The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

⁹ As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.

¹⁰ He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.

¹¹ Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹² Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

¹³ When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaints;

¹⁴ Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:

¹⁵ So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.

¹⁶ I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

¹⁷ What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

¹⁸ And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?

¹⁹ How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

²⁰ I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

²¹ And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

JOB 8

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

² How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

³ Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?

⁴ If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;

⁵ If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

⁶ If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

⁷ Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

⁸ For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:

⁹ (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

¹⁰ Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?

¹¹ Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?

¹² Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.

¹³ So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:

¹⁴ Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.

¹⁵ He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

¹⁶ He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.

¹⁷ His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.

¹⁸ If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.

¹⁹ Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

²⁰ Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:

²¹ Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.

²² They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

JOB 9

Then Job answered and said,

² I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

³ If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

⁴ He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

⁵ Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

⁶ Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

⁷ Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

⁸ Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

⁹ Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

¹⁰ Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

¹¹ Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.

¹² Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

¹³ If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.

¹⁴ How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

¹⁵ Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

¹⁶ If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

¹⁷ For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

¹⁸ He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

¹⁹ If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

²⁰ If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

²¹ Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

²² This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

²³ If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

²⁵ Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

²⁶ They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

²⁷ If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:

²⁸ I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.

²⁹ If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?

³⁰ If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;

³¹ Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

³² For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

³³ Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

³⁴ Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:

³⁵ Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.