Job 22-27
Day 11 & 12: Job 22-27 Notes & Takeaways
Notes from today’s study on my Bible, @myrenewedfaith
We start off today’s notes with Job 22:5-10 where we see that Eliphaz unjustly accuses Job of many sinful acts and tries to blacken his name and reputation. But we will see in Job 29:12-17 that Job disclaims that and states that he in fact was a righteous person before God who truly went out of his way to help those in need.
He then continues to not only call out Job's sin, but compare his sin to those that sinned before the flood, who were also judged (Job 22:11, 16) He accuses him in verses 12 and 13 of denying God’s omniscience and even makes a ridiculous statement about God in Job 22:14, that the “thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens” as if the Lord had eyes of flesh! The firmament is like crystal to him (Ezekiel 1:22). He sees everything!
Although he thinks Job wicked, he does call to him and encourage him to return to God in verses 21-30, but what he doesn’t realize, is that Job never left God and God has never left Job. Just like the Lord never leaves us even at our worst. He loves us and cares for us and wants only that we come back to him as we step away from our sin and back into his love (Hosea 6:1-3).
Job begins his reply in chapter 23 with the yearning to state his case before God. He knows that he has walked righteously and that if he could state his case before God, the Lord would not oppress or press charges against him because he would be found innocent. But he goes on to say in Job 23:8-9 that no matter where he looks he cannot find him. This goes to show that even though the Lord is testing him, Job still seeks the Lord’s face. He is still yearning to be in his presence. What do we do when things go bad? Do we curse God or do we yearn to be in his presence? The word of God tells us to cast our burdens on him, because he will sustain us. (Psalm 55:22) There is nothing too hard or heavy for our Lord and his arm is not too short to save or his ear too dull to hear (Isaiah 59:1)
In Job 23:10-12 we see how Job’s confidence in the Lord. We see that even though he is suffering he understands he is being tested, he states that he will come forth like gold. You see, when you put wood, paper, or anything of the such in fire, what does it to? It burns up! But, if you put precious metals into fire, they are refined they are separated from the impurities, the gold is purified, and so are we. We are like precious metals being purified in our testing, our suffering produces endurance and our endurance perseverance (Romans 5:3-5).
In Job 24 we see how the wicked oppress the weak. He even goes to mention those that move boundary stones (as it was a curse to those who remove their neighbors landmarks Deut 19:14, 27:17), those that thrust the needy from the path and force the poor of the land into hiding (Job 24:4). It was hard for Job to understand God, because if they were wicked, why didn't God judge them for it? This also goes to prove that he detested this so much that he couldn’t have done any of these things that Eliphaz stated he did in Job 22:5-11.
He goes on to say that the wicked love the dark, it conceals their sin. He brings up the adulterer which reminded me of Proverbs 7, the adulterous woman and how she came out at night (Proverbs 7:9-10). But the description of the thieves who break into houses at night reminded me that we should always be on high alert, not for thieves that break into houses, but for the Lord himself. Because one day, he will come back like a thief in the night (Luke 12:39) and blessed are those who are prepared.
Job 25 is short and to the point, Bildad speaks of how glorious God is and how guilty and impure man is.
In the next chapter (26) Job replies back to Bildad and asks him how he has helped the powerless and the feeble and the way he speaks points me back to Job 13:2 where he had said, “what you know I also know! I am not inferior to you.” Bildad had thought he spoke with so much wisdom, but Job lets him know he did not.
In verses 5-14 we see that although their points have differed much in the past, when it comes to the majesty of God, they both agree. I must note that in Job 26:12 Job says that “by his [God’s] power he churned up the sea, by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.” At first I was confused because we know that Rahab of Jericho is known a heroine in the Bible, so why would the Lord cut her into pieces? What I found was that he was not referring to Rahab of Jericho (רָחָב), but Rahab of the sea (רַהַב), a mythical sea creature and monster of chaos, which scholars use as derogatory imagery for representation of Egypt, as in Isaiah 51:9. (Source)
We finish off day 11 & 12 reading with chapter 27. According to Matthew Henry Commentary, Job 27:1-6 “is called a parable (mashal), the title of Solomon's proverbs, because it was grave and weighty, and very instructive, and he spoke as one having authority. It comes from a word that signifies to rule, or have dominion; and some think it intimates that Job now triumphed over his opponents, and spoke as one that had baffled them. We say of an excellent preacher that he knows how dominari in concionibus—to command his hearers. Job did so here.
Job ends the chapter with agreement that the wicked will ultimately get judgment from God for their ways, which was important because if we remember correctly, his friends had wrongly accused him of overturning God’s word in his arguments. God insisted that the Lord would judge the wicked, but we all know that although they might not necessarily be judged here on earth, they will be judged after death (Psalm 37:28, Matthew 7:23).
Later today I will post Day 13 (Job 28-30) notes and takeaways, so stay tuned. Tomorrow we move on to chapters 31-33 in Job. We will finish Job and come back to where we left off in Genesis on January 18. I hope you’re learning a lot and enjoying it all at the same time. I know I am! Make sure to follow RF on Instagram, and join our FB Group to stay up to date for our upcoming weekly zoom sessions!
