Let us turn to the book of Job chapter 1, last time we just did a little bit of an overview of the book of Job. We were going to go through it, verse by verse. I have probably bitten off more than I can chew. This is a huge book, and a lot of it is very difficult. Anyone that has tried to ponder things that are written in the book of Job, knows that it is difficult to understand.
The first thing we have to keep in mind is that, God wrote the Bible in parables and without a parable Christ did not speak, and the whole Bible is Christ speaking to us. In John 6:63 he says, “…: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” And the words, again that Christ speaks to us are the whole Bible, and again its all in parables.
All these historical accounts, stories of the Israelites, the battles, all these men, these prophets, men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, the Kings, as we of read them, and most instances we are reading about Christ, if it is a person who obviously is a child of God, but again it is all parables.
We are to see the Gospel and God is unfolding his salvation plan where ever we read in the Bible, and certainly such is the case with Job, I think its generally understood, that when we read about Job, we read about the suffering of Christ, as he was under the wrath of God, as he was paying for the sins of God’s elect.
The last time I spoke here, we talked about Job, how the sons of God came to present themselves before God in heaven, and Satan was among them and God asked Satan if he had considered his servant Job. He says in Job 1:8:
And JEHOVAH said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
And then Satan challenges God, “if you do this, and if you do that to him, then he will curse you”. So God allowed Satan first to take all of Job’s possessions and his children, and Job remained faithful, and he did it a second time, Satan came again to him and said “touch his flesh now and he will curse you to your face.”
So God allowed Satan to touch Job physically but told him “do not kill him.” We read in Job 2:3:
And JEHOVAH said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
And see how it works there. God is saying to Satan “…, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” Satan does not do anything that God does not allow him. So in Job 2:4-6:
And Satan answered JEHOVAH, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And JEHOVAH said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
And again he permitted Satan to strike Job, he smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown and again put him through horrible affliction and misery and yet again, Job remained faithful. But let us just start out in verse 1, and look at these words and see if we can understand what is going on in this book. We read in Job 1:1:
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Notice here, it says that “There was a man in the land of Uz, …”, we do not read that he was of the land of Uz. A little bit further on, in the end of verse 3, it says “… this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.” We will talk about that in a moment.
The land of Uz, there is a little bit of a question as to where it is. In Genesis 22:21, we read that Nahor (Abraham’s brother’s father to son) named Uz or Huz, we read in Genesis 22:20-21:
And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz (that is the word Uz) his firstborn, …
So he was the first born of Nahor (Abraham’s brother). Let me read Lamentations 4:21 first because Job 1:1 says “There was a man in the land of Uz, …”. Lamentations 4:21, Lamentations is after Jeremiah. We read in Lamentations 4:21:
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; …
Edom is Essau, mount Seir, Idumea, Gad. Essau was Jacob’s twin brother and was a full blooded son of Issac, as Jacob was, and here, we are reading, that the daughter of Edom was dwelling in the land of Uz, so possibly it could be that Edom is Uz.
Now, if you look at a Matthew Henry commentary, he says, that the land of Uz is up North, closer to Ur of the Chaldees, where Abraham came from, because this man Uz or Huz was the first born of Nahor (Abraham’s brother), but we will look at that again in a second when it talks about the men of the east. So we read in Job 1:1:
There was a man in the land of Uz, …
But what we do know is that he was not an Israelite, and we can not begin to be sure of the timing of this story. It could be anytime I think between when the Israelites were in captivity in Egypt. Somewhere in that period which would be 430 years but I am not going to narrow it down, I know others have, but “There was a man in the land of Uz, …” and God speaks of Edom, sometimes in the Bible to represent “hell”, or “being under the wrath of God”.
If you look at Isaiah 63, he is talking about Christ coming from the atonement (coming from suffering the wrath of God), and in Isaiah 63:1:
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? …
It is talking about Christ.
… this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? …
Now Christ answers, he says in Isaiah 63:1:
… I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. …
And God again says in Isaiah 63:2:
… Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? …
And Christ says in Isaiah 63:3:
… I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: …
Now he is speaking of coming from the wrath of God, he is coming from the land of Edom, and then he transitions right into anticipating Judgment day and again, the sprinkling of blood on the garments, in Isaiah 63:3:
… for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
So this is just one clue here that tells us that this may be speaking of Christ and the atonement that Job is a representation of Christ suffering the wrath of God. Again Job 1:1 says:
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; …
The word “Job” comes from the word “enemy”, “to be hated as an enemy”. Look at Job 13:24, and this is Job speaking. He says:
Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
He was speaking to God. That is the word “Job”, and we know from Romans 5 that we are all the enemies of God before our salvation was atoned for, before the foundations of the world, we were all the enemies of God until Christ atoned for our sins, we read in Romans 5:10:
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
We were all enemies before sin was paid for by the suffering of the LORD Jesus. So again, we read in Job 1:1:
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, …
If he was perfect, it means that he was a saved man, he was sinless before God. He is a human being, he had sin, but when God looks at a child of God, he sees the righteousness of Christ in that person. In Genesis 17:1: Christ said to Abram:
… walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Abraham was a saved man. In Genesis 6:9, we read of Noah and we know that Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. We read in Genesis 6:8:
But Noah found grace in the eyes of JEHOVAH.
And we read in Genesis 6:9: These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect …
He was just, he was justified in the sight of God, he was saved. In Genesis 6:9:
… Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
So, we are reading here in Job 1:1 that Job “was perfect and upright”. One verse for the word “upright”, let us take a look at Psalm 25:8, Psalm 25:8 says:
Good and upright is JEHOVAH: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
So Job is perfect and upright and was one that feared God and eschewed evil. The word “eschewed” means “turn from”, “departed from”. Now in verse 2 of chapter 1 of Job, we read in Job 1:2:
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
Now the picture is continued, he had ten children (the number of completeness), and again I believe, that this is a representation of the children of God, maybe like the corporate church I believe, like an external representation of the Kingdom of God on this earth, not necessarily that all of them were saved. But he had seven sons (the number of perfection unto the end) and three daughters (the number of God’s purpose), adding up to ten.
So I believe, and we will look at this a little bit more that they are God’s visible representation of his children on this earth. But Job 1:3 says:
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, …
etc., it goes on to number these animals. That word “substance” means an “acquisition”, “something bought or acquired as a purchased possesition “ and now again, “flocks” and “herds” and “animals” in the Bible are obviously used as God’s children. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” In Ezekiel 34, we read that the children of God are his sheep (his flock).
But the Strong’s definition for this word “substance” is, again I just read “something bought or acquired as a purchased possesition “ and then the Strong’s definition goes on to say “but always live stock”. Now you can not trust the Strong’s definitions, and here is a perfect example because look at Genesis 49:32. When you are using a Strong’s concordance, it is fine, it is fine to read those definitions because sometimes they are accurate and sometimes they help but take them with a grain of salt because they are not always correct. You have to look at the way God uses the words in the Bible. But Genesis 49:32 says, it is talking about that field that Abraham had bought to bury Sarah, and there they buried Isaac and Rebekah, Genesis 49:31 says: (Speaking of that field.)
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
This is Jacob speaking. Genesis 49:32 says:
The purchase (that is the word “substance”, “acquisition”) of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
See, it does not have anything to do with live stock there. It just flatly contradicts that Strong’s definition. I just wanted to show you that, it’s just an aside, the purchase or the acquisition. So Job 1:3 says: “His substance (his acquisitions, his possessions) were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; …”
And again, “flocks and herds and animals”, represent “true believers”. The children of God were all spoken of as “clean”, or “unclean” animals in the Bible, but let us take a look at this number here, Job 1:3 says:
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, …
That is 10,000.
… and five hundred yoke of oxen, …
A yoke is a “pair”, so 500 yoke of oxen makes it 11,000.
… and five hundred she asses, …
That is 11,500. That’s 5 times 2300. Do you think God wrote this book? The number 23 is in many places associated with destruction or judgment, especially on the church. And we know, as we go on to read this story, that these animals here were all taken from him.
In 1 Corinthians 10:8, it talks about how God killed 23,000 Israelites in the wilderness. That is in Numbers 25, for committing fornication with the Moabites and turning to their idols, he killed 23,000, it’s a picture of judgment on His people. In Daniel 8 we read about the 2300 evening - mornings, when God brings Judgment on the sanctuary.
We read in Acts 27:37 about the 276 men that were on that ship, they were all saved, and I believe that 23 is a factor in that number, and so 12 times 23 is 276.
There were 23 Kings of Israel, the Northern tribes had 20, but then they started out with Saul, David and Solomon before the tribes split. 23 is without question, the number of Judgment and destruction particularly with the church.
So these animals add upto 11,500 and that is 5 times 2300. Now turn to the last chapter of the book. In the end of the book of Job, God blessed Job’s latter end. We read in Job 42:12:
So JEHOVAH blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels (that is 20,000), and a thousand yoke of oxen (that is 22,000), and a thousand she asses (that is 23,000).
23,000 twice, so 11,500. So I am not going to speak anymore on that right now, because we can probably see, I think many of us can see, if you have been in the Word for a while that as Job’s seven sons and three daughters were killed here and these flocks were taken. That may possibly (I’m speculating, maybe I should not have even said this), possibly it represents the destruction of national Israel as God separated himself from them, divorced them and then he started the New Testament church.
This number 23,000 in the end, I am not going to speculate that. May be, if any of you have ever worked on this, maybe you can help me with it, or let me know something you have seen in this. But we will keep on going with this, and maybe we will come to truth. So, Job 1:3 says:
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; …
Now, that word “household” is translated like that word “service”, it comes from the word “work”. It is his whole company that is working for him and again, it is a picture of the people of God, they are all doing the work of God. If you look at Genesis 26:14, it uses this word. In Genesis 26:14, this is speaking of Isaac, Genesis 26:13 says:
And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: …
“Store of servants” is that word “household” in Job 1. But again, Isaac like Abraham and like Job, like Jacob and other rich men in the Bible. Men that have a lot of possessions, they are rich, are figures of Christ again, in all their riches because 2 Corinthians 8:9 says:
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
So, rich men in the Old Testament, many rich men that were spoken of by God as good men are figures of Christ in one way or the other. So, again in verse 3, there is a lot in verse 3 of Job 1. In Job 1:3:
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, …
And notice in that number that there is a mixture of clean and unclean animals.
… and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Now that can be translated, “was the greater of all the men of the east”. Again, it is not specifically saying that Job was of the land of Edom in that sense but he was in that land, he was not in the land of Canaan obviously. But I believe the picture there again is of Christ as he dwelt amongst sinners. Now he came to be amongst sinners but yet he was under the wrath of God, it is as if he was under the hatred of God, it is as if he was in hell, which Edom typifies sometimes and Esau typifies Satan.
The East are all those countries. East of Israel, they were all enemies, they were Moab, Ammon, Midian, Edom, further up North were the Chaldeans, Syrians, but God also speaks of the East as being where Judgment comes from, we won’t go into any of those verses now that speak of how he will come from the East.
Let us look at Judges 6. Judges 6 is the account of Gideon. All through the book of Judges, you read in Judges 6:1:
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of JEHOVAH: and JEHOVAH delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
You read that over and over in the book of Judges, “and the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD.” He put them under the oppression of one of these countries, then raised them up or delivered and released them and then you see salvation in that and the Lord Jesus. But it just illustrates their stiff necks and the longsuffering of God. But in Judges 6:1-4 we read:
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of JEHOVAH: and JEHOVAH delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
Then we go on to read how God delievers them through Gideon, but the children of the East could be any one of those countries, to the East of Israel, they were all enemies. So, back here in Job 1:4-5:
And his sons (that’s Job’s sons), went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
The obvious thing we can see here is intercession–he is praying for his sons. But also we can see again, God’s church here because what is feasting all about? When we feast (the word feast is also translated as “banquet” sometimes”), we eat and we drink. Last week, we all feasted to celebrate the fourth of July. We feast at thanksgiving and at Christmas, and the Israelites were given those three feasts, it is a different word but the principle is the same. Those three feasts that they had to observe every year. The feast of the Passover, the Pentecost and the feast of Tabernacles.
But they ate and drank at those feasts, to recognize an event. But when we feast, we eat and drink, and “to eat and to drink” often in the Bible is used as a metaphor for partaking of the gospel. Look at Proverbs 15, in verse 15. Proverbs 15:15 says:
All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
That is speaking of eating and drinking–feeding on Christ, the Word of God. He spoke of how he was that manna, that bread that came down from heaven that the Israelites ate in the wilderness. Look at Jude. It speaks of feasting, it speaks of the false teachers in the church, right in the tares, right in with the wheat. In Jude verse 12, Christ has just recently gone back to heaven after His ministry and already there are false teachers in the church. Jude verse 12 says:
These are spots in your feasts of charity (or love), when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
But the feast is to, again a picture of partaking of the gospel. We eat and we drink. So back here in Job 1:4, we read:
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, …
And the “house” all through the Old Testament is used as a representation of the church. We read over and over in 1 Kings 6. In 1 Kings 6 and 7 about Solomon building the “house”, it is the same word. Psalm 127:1 says:
… Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: …
All through the Bible, the “house” represents the church. So Job’s sons are feasting in their houses and they went and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. Job 1:5 says:
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Again, we see intercession in that, Christ praying for his people. In Job 1:6, we spoke about this a little bit, in Job 1:6, we read:
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before JEHOVAH, and Satan came also among them.
Until the time of the cross, Satan was allowed in heaven and again this is something amazing to think about, after what he did, but he was allowed in Heaven until God’s time. There is a time and purpose to everything under heaven and it was not God’s plan to eject Satan from Heaven until Christ rose in that demonstration in 33 A.D. Look at John 12.
In John 12, Christ was talking to the disciples about going to the cross and he says in verse 31, in John 12:31:
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
That is when Satan finally was cast out of heaven. And there are other evidences in the Bible about Satan being in Heaven. Look at 2 Chronicles, this account is in both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Look at 2 Chronicles chapter 18. This is Jehoshaphat and Ahab. Jehoshaphat was a good king, he was a king of Judah. Ahab was a king of Israel, very wicked man. But Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he would go to war with him against Syria. Look at 2 Chronicles 18:1:
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.
And he was rebuked by a prophet later on for doing that, he never should have done that. In 2 Chronicles 18:2-5, we read:
And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead. And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of JEHOVAH to day. Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.
Ahab got killed in this battle but here all his prophets told him to go up and prosper. In 2 Chronicles 18:6-8:
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of JEHOVAH besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of JEHOVAH: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and …
they go and get Micaiah. In 2 Chronicles 18:9:
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah …
sat in a void place at the gate, where the prophets were prophesying. In 2 Chronicles 18:10-11, we read:
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith JEHOVAH, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: …
Here we are again, kind of like at Mount Carmel. There were 400 prophets of Ahab and they were all lying. And they were going to get this one man that Ahab hated because he would never say anything good about him. So, we read in 2 Chronicles 18:12-14:
And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. And Micaiah said, As JEHOVAH liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.
Now, I do not understand this. He told him what he wanted to hear and it sounded like it was cynical and sarcastic. “If anybody could explain this to me, I wish you would.” But that is not the point of this story. Micaiah says to the king, “Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.” In 2 Chronicles 18:15-16:
And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of JEHOVAH? Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and JEHOVAH said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.
He told him not to go. In 2 Chronicles 18:17-21:
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil? Again he said, (now this was Micaiah speaking) Therefore hear the word of JEHOVAH; I saw JEHOVAH sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And JEHOVAH said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a spirit, and stood before JEHOVAH, and said, I will entice him. And JEHOVAH said unto him, Wherewith? (or how are you going to do it?) And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets…
That has to be Satan. In 2 Chronicles 18:21:
…And JEHOVAH said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
So here we see that Satan was right in there, for some reason, until the time at the cross. In 2 Chronicles 18:22-24, we read:
Now therefore, behold, JEHOVAH hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets (Micaiah was still talking), and JEHOVAH hath spoken evil against thee. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near (and he would be one of these prophets), and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of JEHOVAH from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
But here we are. The consensus does not mean a thing in the Bible. It is usually always one prophet, like Elijah, or someone, against all these false prophets and it has always been that way. But again, Ahab got killed in that battle.
Let us go back to Job. I think I will stop there in Job, next week we will start there in verse 7, about how the LORD allowed Satan to begin to afflict Job.
Let me just turn to Job chapter 19, and we will read chapter 19 and close. In this chapter, this is Job speaking and you can see in this chapter that it reads just like Psalm 22. You can hear Christ on the cross in this chapter. Job 19:1-2 says:
Then Job answered and said, How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
He was talking to these three friends who come to console him, and they never consoled him. They begin immediately to tell him that he did something, he sinned some how that this Judgment came upon him and he continues to maintain his righteousness and continued to desire to speak with God and reason with him and ask him why something was put on him. In verse 3 of Job 19, this is Job speaking to these three men, in Job 19:3-13:
These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me. And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach: Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head (this is Christ). He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree. He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies. His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle. He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.
They all forsook him and fled. In Job 19:14-15:
My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me (that is his bretheren). They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.
What is God’s house? The church. In Job 19:16-17:
I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth. My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.
His breath is strange, and that word “breath”, that same word is translated as “spirit”, very often. But now it is strange as he is suffering the wrath of God, it is strange to his church, they do not recognise him, they do not recognise his spirit. In Job 19:18-27:
Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! 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.
In Job 19:28, he says to these men:
Job 19:28 But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
This is again saying that this is Christ. He is saying to his three friends, and I am not sure yet, what those guys represent. It is possible that they represent again the church, who does not quite understand the gospel, the suffering, the atonement, salvation.
That word “matter” is the Hebrew word dâbâr (daw-bawr’), Strong’s number 1697, translated as “the word”, very often, or the thing, the matter, the subject of what the whole Bible is, the whole gospel is about. In the end of Ecclesiastes, you read, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: …”, the whole gospel.
So he is saying to them, “Why persecute we him, seeing the root …”, “the root of the matter (the root of the whole Word of God) is found in me?”, in Job. Then he goes on to say in Job 19:29:
Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
Emphasizing that there is a judgment. But, obviously, Job is a picture of Christ, but in this other suffering, there is a lot more to this story than just that, and we will just try to go verse by verse and pray to God that maybe he will open our eyes to something’s in this book. Shall we pray,
Heavenly Father again we just come before you and say, “could it be that we have seen what you have meant for us to see, in this story of Job and above all, could it be that it has been to your glory, as we have spoken of salvation and has and that Christ to pay for sin had to suffer eternal death on behalf of each one, that you would save, that is the root of the matter also, but again could each one of us just have a reverence for this book as we see how you have spoken to us in parables and as you open some these parables to us, we just stand amazed and understand that this book could not have been written by man but again may we just have a continuing love for the Word, may we continue to encourage one another to love our bretheren, to support the weak, and to glorify you, may we be used to continue to glorify you on this earth while you tarry. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.