(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Job 25:1-5) Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
2 “Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who makes peace in His heights.
3 Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 How then can mankind be righteous with God?
Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure?
5 If even the moon has no brightness
And the stars are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less man, that maggot,
And a son of man, that worm!”
2 “Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who makes peace in His heights.
3 Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 How then can mankind be righteous with God?
Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure?
5 If even the moon has no brightness
And the stars are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less man, that maggot,
And a son of man, that worm!”
(Job 26:1-14) Then Job responded,
2 “What a help you are to the weak!
You have saved the arm without strength!
3 What advice you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!
4 To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?
5 “The departed spirits are made to tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
9 He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
12 With His power He quieted the sea,
And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
13 By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”
2 “What a help you are to the weak!
You have saved the arm without strength!
3 What advice you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!
4 To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?
5 “The departed spirits are made to tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
9 He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
12 With His power He quieted the sea,
And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
13 By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”
(Job 27:1-23) Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, I will not give up my integrity.
6 I have kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked,
And my opponent as the criminal.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it no longer exists.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him without mercy;
He will certainly try to flee from its power.
23 People will clap their hands at him,
And will whistle at him from their places.
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, I will not give up my integrity.
6 I have kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked,
And my opponent as the criminal.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it no longer exists.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him without mercy;
He will certainly try to flee from its power.
23 People will clap their hands at him,
And will whistle at him from their places.
(Job 28:1-28)
1 “Certainly there is a mine for silver
And a place for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He sinks a shaft away from inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
5 From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
12 “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted weight to the wind,
And assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a limit for the rain,
And a course for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
And a place for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He sinks a shaft away from inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
5 From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
12 “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted weight to the wind,
And assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a limit for the rain,
And a course for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Bildad's speech, although short, was not sweet. His viewpoint suddenly became a hopeless question which lacked wisdom. But within Job's rant, at least he hit on some Godly truths.
When we realize that God sees and knows everything, we can understand that - God - is - wisdom. Therefore, the answer and solution is short and sweet! When we choose to fear and seek after God, we will find wisdom!
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