seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Job 26:1 Then Job replied:
2 “How you have helped the powerless!
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight you have displayed!
4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight you have displayed!
4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
5 “The dead are in deep anguish,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 The realm of the dead is naked before God;
Destruction[a] lies uncovered.
7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 The realm of the dead is naked before God;
Destruction[a] lies uncovered.
7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”
a. Job 26:6 Hebrew Abaddon
I went right to the easy English site this morning.
Bildad’s interruption did not impress Job. Such words would not help Job, who was still suffering. And Job thought that Bildad’s description of God was very poor. Job had studied wisdom (chapter 28). So Job believed that words about God should not merely come from the human mind. Rather, such words should come from God’s Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
Bildad’s words about God were not accurate. Instead, Bildad was confusing the facts to make his own ideas seem correct. This is a terrible thing to do (2 Peter 3:16; Revelation 22:18-19). People who explain about God to other people must be very careful (James 3:1).
Job then showed Bildad what Bildad should have said. And we think that Job spoke the words in Job 26:5-14 by the power of the Holy Spirit.
· In chapter 25, Bildad’s speech seemed to describe vast spaces. He spoke about heaven. He spoke about the moon and stars. He spoke about the soil. And he referred to graves. But Job’s reply seems to describe even more vast spaces. Job spoke about hell as well as heaven. He spoke about the sky and the clouds. He spoke about mysteries, for example the horizon and the rain. (Although we understand these things today, they seemed to be strange mysteries then.)
· Job also spoke about some events in verses 12-13. We do not know much about these events. We may not even be sure whether these are past or future events. But the Bible seems to mention the same events elsewhere.
· Some people think that Job was referring to stories from other ancient societies. For example, stories from the region called Mesopotamia. We do not agree. There were many ancient societies and they all had stories about their false gods. Job did not believe in these false gods. So he would refuse to listen to such stories.
Job described hell. Elsewhere, Job was not sure whether hell exists (Job 3:13-14; Job 21:22-26). But in these verses, Job was not explaining his own ideas. Instead, he was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Many ancient people thought that the earth was on poles. Even Job mentions these poles elsewhere. But Job’s words here are correct. Scientists have proved that an empty space surrounds the world. God balances the world on nothing.
Verses 11-13 seem to describe a particular event.
The original language of the Book of Job is called Hebrew. To understand these verses we need to look at the Hebrew words.
· The proud enemy in verse 12 is called RAHAB in Hebrew. This word is also in Isaiah 51:9. Isaiah seems to be describing a terrible sea animal. But he uses the animal as a description of the army from Egypt. Or, as a description of the sea. When the army from Egypt attacked God’s people, they could not escape because of the sea. But God made the sea dry. So God’s people escaped (Isaiah 51:10). But the army from Egypt drowned (Exodus chapter 14).
· The enemy in verse 13 is called NACHASH in Hebrew. This word usually means a snake. In the garden called Eden, the devil appeared as a NACHASH (snake). And he told Eve not to obey God (Genesis 3:1-4). This word is also in Isaiah 27:1. Isaiah described the same event as Job 26:13. But in Isaiah, the NACHASH has another name too. This name is LEVIATHAN. The word LEVIATHAN is in Job 3:8 and Job chapter 41. We have translated LEVIATHAN as ‘crocodile’. A crocodile is a dangerous animal that lives in rivers. The crocodile seems to be the animal that God described in Job chapter 41. But in both Isaiah and Job, LEVIATHAN really seems to mean the devil.
So, in the end, God will punish the devil (Revelation 20:10). This is the event that Isaiah described in Isaiah 27:1. But the words in Isaiah 27:1 are similar to Isaiah 51:9. So we think that Job was describing the devil’s final punishment in verses 11-13.
Wow... Job got heavy.... apparently, according to this commentary.... the Holy Spirit took over Job's speech. Here I've been saying Job didn't know about Jesus or hell. This commentary says Job is talking about the demise of Leviathan..... this commentary says Job was talking like one of God's prophets... Isaiah... God's words not his own.I know Job didn't Google Revelation for his friends. I know Job didn't google God..... I know Job didn't google God because Job wasn't carrying his smartphone..... right????? No.... Jesus hadn't been there yet. Jesus hadn't been sent to the cross to be buried in a borrowed tomb where He would defeat death, roll the stone away..... and walk away.... to have a fish fry with His friends...... Just about everyone in the Old Testament became worm food. Just about everyone in the Old Testament had one life.... and it ended in death.... period.... no Heaven.... no Hell.... Just death.
Job believed in God..... Job believed that if he followed God's commandments, and rules and regulations.... God would take care of him. Sure a predator might raid his flocks at night..... and his children may get drunk and loud.... cause him worry.... but God would take care of him. God told His people, through Moses, Aaron, and Abraham.... "if you behave, I'll stay with you". For some reason that covenant wasn't working for Job.... but Job still believed in God....
I guess the commentary could be right.... God can do anything.... even whisper in a human mind..... I see no reason why God wouldn't have put the Spirit in place to watch over Job while satan was messing with him.....
