OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 42

Job 42:1-17

42:1-4 Job listened to God: reverently, conscientiously. More importantly, Job heard God. Job admitted to his own doubt and disagreement; he admitted that he was wrong to mistrust God. The beauty of the admission is that God still had not explained to Job why his life had changed so much. God's speech reminded Job of the faith he spent his life building and he was ashamed to have tainted it with so much anger and suspicion. 

42:5-6 Job used his opportunity in conversation with God to express his repentance. Face to face with the majesty of God, Job found himself to be lacking. It became ridiculous to him that he would ever rely on his own calculation rather than trust in the manifestations God placed into his life. 

Job was disappointed in himself to the point of loathing; and many of us can relate. But in such moments of humility, the love of God is strong; and repentance is restoration.

42:7-8 God then turned his attention to the men who had so much to say to God. God was extremely displeased with their arrogance. Moreover, what they spoke was false and cruel. Though Job faltered in peace, his faith was steadfast. But God told Eliphaz and his two friends that they needed to repent; they had relied on their own power and knowledge rather than truth and righteousness. 

God explained to them that it was Job's merciful prayers that would save them. God trusted that Job would continue to be the person he loved so much: someone who would pray for people who seemed not to deserve it. The irony is that the men had thought for so long that they were better than Job. As always, God put things in proper order.

42:9-10 Job prayed for them; and we know that his prayer was sincere otherwise it would not have been accepted by God. The Lord restored Job's loses when he prayed for his friends. Not before, not after. God restores us as we live a righteous life. God works concurrently with our compassion and righteousness. 

God blessed Job doubly. Job's faith was steadfast and his character magnanimous to his friends and reverent to God. The grace of God flooded into his life with emphasis. 

42:11 Job's friends and family came back into his life. God never left it. We can expect breakthrough in any situation we have placed our faith, our God, in. Anticipate the peace God is cultivating, the love, the life life He has planned for you who love the Lord.

Remember that Job's friends, family and home were not taken away as punishment. The faithful can expect to live as examples of the resilience of sincere faith in tribulation. It is a difficult but honorable position; it is a blessed assignment.

42:12-15 God blessed the rest of God's life; the tribulation gave birth to a life even more prosperous than the former. He started another family (his first family safe, cherished and waiting for him in heaven).

42:16-17 God enabled Job to live a long, happy and full life. Use Job's example to build stronger faith in yourself. Trust God's plan; when you give God full authority in your life, you can trust that your life will inevitably unfold beautifully. With God you will live a full, happy, and purposeful life. 

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 41

Job 41:1-34

41:1-11 God pointed that the as the creator of all, He was able to tame even the wildest beast. Job was not. We are not. There are so many things we are not able to do, but as soon as we recognize God as the authority of our life (and all life), are insufficiency becomes irrelevant. 

Job forget God's perfect authority and subsequently spent a chunk of his life in a deep state of lament. In a way, it is an insult to God for us to worry and to doubt. He has written to us of His righteousness and we see evidence of His creation, and truth, all around. 

41:12-34 The things, people, and situations in life that are entirely impossible for us are easy for God. What intimidates us does not even phase God. And yet a switch takes place within these verses: the symbol of the Leviathan becomes a symbol for Satan and evil in the world. Without God, we would be tempted and consumed. God is our only efficient power against the forces working against us. 

It becomes clear that the purpose for God's speech is not to reprimand Job, necessarily, but to urge him back into the safety of His reign. God's authority is our best protection and provision. So much is stronger than us and smarter than us but with God, those things are crushed to nothing. It was so dangerous for Job to doubt God; without his faith, he would have died spiritually and physically. 

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 40

Job 40:1-24

40:1-2 God mightily asked Job if he still wanted to contend with Him. 

40:3-5 Job, having experienced the presence and voice of God, suddenly feels the fight blown out of him. The presence of God is enough in an instant to remind Job of his humility and natural ignorance. 

40:6-14 God was not pleased with Job's argument; God had chosen Job as an example of a steadfast human relationship with God. In return, Job evidenced that hardship was enough to push the relationship into turmoil, doubt and distrust. Job had abandoned almost all hope in God and therefore God redundantly asked Job if he could place that hope in himself with better results. Of course, he could not.

40:15-24 Yet showed that even animals had more peace and trust in God than humans. Even though their lives have trouble and need, they do not become disturbed like humans (who have the ability to have a firmer grasp and deeper comprehensive of God).

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 39

Job 39:1-30

39:1-4 God asked a series of questions throughout this chapter, all with the intention of causing Job and his companions to realize he absolute and detailed power God has over all that is within the earth. 

39:5-8 The order and process and freedom of life on earth occurred by and under the arm and mind of God. The purpose and ability of the earth and kingdom of heaven, of all creation, is beyond human comprehension. Job was sincerely faithful to God but was mistaken in believing that he understood all things because of his faith. 

39:9-12 Though humans may be intellectually superior to animals, humans are not superior enough to be readily served by them. All, even humans, are under the authority of God. 

39:13-18 God chose to distribute qualities and abilities and only He knows how and why. It is unwise to believe one-self wise, this chapter of Job is a reminder of that. Though God teaches a conscientious student much, some of the most pertinent knowledge is that humans are so far below God's level of wisdom.

39:19-25 God also distributed power. As God's children, we must endeavor to be comfortable within His power, in case we found our own store lacking (and inevitably in life we will). Job was emotional and spiritually flailing in turmoil because he lost his grip on confidence in God's wisdom and power; his journey for quite some time was a difficult one because of that loss of confidence in God.

39:26-30 Through our faith we learn a lot about the world, God, humanity and ourselves. But we do not learn everything. We do not understand all of the details and reasons all of the time. Our wisdom does not reign in the world. It often fails. So we must rely on God's wisdom; we must trust when it's easy to doubt that He commands all that is within this world.

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 38

Job 38:1-41

38:1-3 Finally, God began to speak; Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu and even Job were silenced. The beginning of this chapter is further proof to each of us that when we have questions about life, we should look and listen to God exclusively for the answers. Our life on earth is meant to be a lifelong, hands-on conversation with God. The questions He asks us are meant to guide us into peace and wisdom.

38:4-7 The men around Job boasted of their knowledge and wisdom but immediately, God makes an opportunity to shut them down. For all of their self-proclaimed wisdom, God points out that none of them were with Him when he established the earth. Their answers to Job were redundant but also off-base. Their counsel hurt Job; they did not help him in anyway by pretending or presuming to understand his situation. 

38:8-11 The universe was created with precision. It was important for God to distinguish Himself from the crowd of know-it-alls; so much banter had taken place and it was time for truth. 

38:12-15 What gave those men the right to feign superiority over Job? According to God: nothing. 

38:16-18 Only God has the power in all situations. 

38:19-21 Only God has the wisdom in all situations. 

38:22-24 God continued to use examples to show the difference between human intellect and His own; His purpose is not to demean but to humble. The elements of the earth are His creation and under His control.

38:25-30 For all humanity's boasting, it is God who established the earth and enabled its function. 

38:31-38 And yet His power extends beyond earth to the stars and past human sight and comprehension. These men and all of their knowledge could not equate with God's wisdom. For nearly forty chapters they talked but never touched upon the truth of the situation. It is pertinent for us to understand that gossip and arrogance are a waste of everyone's time. 

38:39-41 Believers or not, we rely on God. We have been situated on a planet tailored specifically to host our bodies. From the book of Job we learn that we cannot rely upon our own understanding, we must seek God because His is the authority over our body, situation, life, planet and universe. 

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 37

Job 37:1-24

37:1-5 Elihu continued to speak of the depth and strength of God's power. He spoke as though he were speaking to a person who had never heard of God before, but God was well acquainted with faith.

37:6-13 As creator of the universe, God initiated the process of life, nature and earth. He is in control of and overseeing all the details occurring here. 

37:14-18 But Elihu's reflection on God's majesty was ill-purposed; Elihu used his knowledge of God to demean Job. He thought Job an arrogant and wicked man because he refused to actually listen to Job. He preferred to hear himself speak. None of us have to be able to describe God eloquently; it is more sincere that we love him so deeply its inexpressible.

37:19-24 Elihu scoffed at Job's prayer to communicate with God. He thought it impertinent of Job to hope to speak with God. But Job's relationship, as well as our own, with God is a personal and intimate one. God loves to hear from us; He delights in answering. His answers do not always come as quickly or as starkly as we would like, but they are always perfect in timing and delivery. It was faithful of Job to pray to speak honesty with God; we should all feel comfortable asking our Father, our Teacher, questions about love and life. 

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 36

Job 36:1-33

36:1-4 Elihu's praise of God is tainted by the fact that first and foremost, he wanted to exalt himself. Pride is a sure and immediate mark of an unwise man. No matter how much knowledge Elihu actually had, or boasted, he was unable to grasp a principle element of God's philosophy for humanity: he had no humility. 

36:5 God is powerful and kind, strong and understanding. 

36:6 God does stamp out the power and life of the wicked. He establishes and restores justice for the victimized.

36:7 God is always present, always vigilant over the lives of His children. The deeper our faith, the wider breadth we allow Him in our lives to act on what He observes. Leaders of faith, justice, and righteousness are upheld by Him.

36:8-9 God disciplines; He is our ultimate parent and as such, He pulls us back from poor behavior and nudges us toward spiritual and moral maturity. 

36:10-12 We each have the opportunity listen to and to absorb God's instruction; there are benefits and blessings for the contentious child of God. But an evil person is subject to the repercussions of their own wicked behavior. 

36:13-15 A life without God has poor quality: despair, discontentment, emotional imprisonment, and servitude to sin. 

36:16-21 We cannot escape what we sow. We all walk into the places we have built. 

36:22-23 Truly God is our greatest instructor. We do ourselves a lamentable disservice to ignore and/or neglect His principles, commandments and wisdom. Again, Elihu missed the mark by applying this particular advice to Job, who already valued God's instruction. 

36:24-25 Elihu told Job to praise God; but Job already loved God and exalted Him. It is good advice for us if we are the type of person Elihu thought he was speaking to.

36:26-33 Elihu marveled at the works of God; indeed He is above and beyond what our minds are able to comprehend. It is spiritually healthy for us all to take in the beauty and wonder of His creation all around us and within us.

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 35

Job 35:1-16

35:1-3 Elihu's arrogance clouded his ability to understand Job. Job did not think he was perfect or more righteous than God; he was simply a man trying to make sense of events in his life he did not understand. Job was like so many of us are.

35:4-8 It's true that God is above us in purity and wisdom, righteousness, authority and so much more. But Job was not questioning God's status. Job did not want to sin, neither did he think he could match God in goodness. Elihu assumed Job was challenging God but Job simply wanted a conversation with Him.

35:9-16 Elihu touched on some valid observations about humanity: sometimes people are evil, often people are insincere (especially in their relationship with God). A lot of people want answers and blessings from God more than they want a relationship with Him. They ask in vain and silence answers.

Yet none of that was the case for Job. Job was a sincere and righteous child of God. He valued his relationship and earnestly sought a conversation with God. Eventually God would answer, and He will answer you, too.

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 34

Job 34:1-37

34:1-4 Elihu ignorantly inserted himself into Job's conversation and assumed that his words held wisdom and merit that the others' did not.

34:5-9 Elihu quoted Job but like Job's friends, brushed over Job's sincerity and instead flooded the conversation with his own interpretation of Job's plight.

34:10-15 Elihu felt that God had full authority over every situation, and that thought was correct. But because Elihu and Job's friends were not members of the relationship between God and Job, specifically, the application of their thoughts to Job's situation was incorrect.

34:16-20 He felt that Job should not question the precipitation of God's plans in his life. But God blessed us with brains and He anticipates that we will use them. Job could not connect what he knew about God with what became of his life; the fact that he wanted to find that connection was a testament to his faith.

34:21-30 Elihu decided that Job had been targeted by God as a sinner; he was entirely wrong. It is true that God's judgement is perfect and founded in justice. A wicked person does not escape His gaze or authority. Yet Job had not been caught in that net.

34:31-33 Elihu wanted Job to submit to repentance, Job would have readily done so if he had sinned against God. But Job knew that he had not broken a commandment and could not possibly apologize sincerely for something he had not done.

34:34-37 Elihu tried to discredit Job and exalt himself; in direct contradiction to the word of God, Elihu lifted himself up rather than others. He replaced God's truth with his own supposed-knowledge. Instead of listening to Job, he delighted in condemning him.

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 33

Job 33:1-33

33:1-7 Elihu presented himself as though he had been sent directly from God to communicate with Job.

33:8-11 Elihu professed that he had listened to Job state his case.

33:12-18 Like Job's friends, Elihu disagreed that Job was righteous.

33:19-22 Elihu felt that God had been trying to reach Job, if not through dream than through hardship.

33:23-28 Elihu thought that if Job started to listen to the ways God was (supposedly) communicating to him, his life would change. But Elihu's advice did not apply to Job, as we know; Job's situation was unique.

33:29-30 Rightly, Elihu believed that God could restore a person if they were willing in faith. Yet Job was not blocking his own restoration.

33:31-33 Rather pompously, Elihu offered to continue to teach Job. He was overly confident that his advice was sound. He had not yet even given Job an opportunity respond. 

OT: The Book of Job, Chapter 32

Job 32:1-22

32:1-5 Job's "friends" were unable to determine the reason for the plight of his life except for their belief that Job was guilty somehow. Another person thought he would try to solve Job's problem, a younger man named Elihu.

32:6-9 Even though Elihu was young, he believed that he possessed the wisdom to interpret Job's situation better than any who had tried before him.

32:10-14 Elihu noticed that the men failed to convince Job of their argument; he felt that they failed to answer Job's questions as well. He declared that he would try a different approach.

32:15-22 Elihu was so arrogantly sure of his own ability to interpret the situation. He felt that he was bursting with the Word of God; but in actuality, Job needed only to discuss his situation directly with God. None of Job's friends, neither Elihu, was in the vicinity when God planned Job's life.

Be careful not to behave as those you have all the answers for another person's life. Advice and support is important but Job's friends and Elihu took it to another level; they felt they knew what God's advice and reason in Job's life would be. Make sure that you get the most important information about your life from your relationship with God.