Job 15 through 16:15, 23 & 24

William Tyndale was a sixteenth-century Bible scholar with a passion for making the Scriptures available to the English-speaking masses.  He translated the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek into the language of the common people.  Because the Church of England did not approve Tyndale’s translation, King Henry VIII banned it.  In 1524, Tyndale fled to Belgium to avoid being arrested. In 1535, Tyndale met a student from England named Henry Philips. Young Philips said he wanted to know everything he could about Bible translation, so the two men became close friends.  One evening, Tyndale and Philips went out to have dinner at an inn down the street.  As they reached the door of the inn, Philips stepped back and let Tyndale enter.  As Tyndale stepped through the doorway, two men seized him–agents of the king of England. Only then did William Tyndale realize that his friend, Henry Philips, had betrayed him to his enemies. For sixteen months Tyndale was imprisoned in the castle of Vilvorde, Belgium.  During his imprisonment, he had conversations with his guard, the guard’s daughter, and several others in the castle, and all of them converted to faith in Jesus Christ.  He was tried and condemned to death as a heretic.  On October 6, 1536, Tyndale was led to the place of execution.  His last words, as he was tied to the stake, were, “Lord! Open the king of England’s eyes!”  Then he was strangled to death and his body was consumed by fire. Just three years after Tyndale’s death, God answered the martyr’s dying prayer.  Henry VIII dropped his opposition to a Bible translation for the masses, and the English Great Bible was published n  1539, based almost entirely on Tyndale’s translation. Friends may betray us, as Henry Philips betrayed William Tyndale.  But God can accomplish His will even through the betrayal of a friend.  God brought good out of the sin of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed his Lord; and God brought good out of the sin of Henry Philips, who betrayed William Tyndale.  Though Tyndale was imprisoned and condemned to die, he continued living for Christ, witnessing to his jailers, and praying that the king of England would allow God’s Word to go out to the people.  God answered this martyr’s dying prayer, and history was changed. Job is a man who would identify with William Tyndale. His own friends — men he had known and trusted for years–have now turned on him.  He used to invite them into his home to break bread with him.  Now they have become Job’s chief accusers and tormentors.  Yet we will see God achieve His good and perfect will, even through the sin of these false friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. These three men have taken their shots at job in the first debate, Job chapters 3 through 14.  That was round one.  Now we come to round two, the second debate, Job chapters 15-21.  Job’s friends have no sympathy for his suffering and no ear to hear his arguments.  Instead of asking themselves if there is any merit to Job’s position, they sharpen their verbal weapons and attack him even more fiercely. Though Job may seem defenseless against the accusations and attacks of his friends, he is about to discover that he has help from on high.

FOOT NOTE: LET GOD BE GOD by RAY C. STEDMAN, Chapter 7, pages 99-100

Chapter 15:2-9

In the first debate, Eliphaz began as a nice guy with courtesy, but by round two the courtesy is gone by the second line:

Job you are full of hot air, you undermine piety (thrust), you are sly and prompted by a sinful heart (cut) I don’t condemn you, your words do (slice). Job God’s council isn’t limited to you (hack). You think you’re smarter than us (dice).

Why do you think Eliphaz acted this way? Could it be pride? if so how. What did he have to prove?

Chapter 15:10-16

Eliphaz is accusing Job of being vile and corrupt. A man drinks up evil like water. But what did God say about Job in chapter 1:8. Eliphaz does come up with one correct saying in vs 10 and it is essentially the same thing Paul says in Romans 3:23. Job’s friends accuse him of the same thing they are guilty of, man’s natural sinful nature. they too are part of the fallen sinful human race.

Paul in Galatians 6:1-3 tells us to restore with gentleness, watch yourself, or you may be tempted.

Eliphaz violates this principal, How?

Eliphaz in vs 17 speaks “In my wisdom” Job let me tell you something buddy boy, wise men before said the same thing, or I have proof to what I am about to say-so listen up!

Wicked men like you come into trouble, you’ll wonder aimlessly, when you die the vultures will eat your flesh, pick your bones, this happens because you keep defying God. You amassed your riches by using bribery, this is the reason you had everything consumed, people like you can’t bring forth anything good, you’re like a woman who gave birth to a monster.

WOW!!!!!! what accusations!

Its the old “blame-the-victim” theology, if you’re suffering, you must be sinning. This view always has been and always will be WRONG!.

Job 16:1-6

Job’s words drip with sarcasm, anger, and pain. They come from a man who was tortured, and tried beyond our ability to comprehend, he defiantly had the right to call his friends “miserable comforters.” At this point in the story, Satan has faded into the background, make no mistake about it he is there using Job’s friends, their attacks on Job are indeed the flaming arrows or fiery darts found in Ephesians 6:16.

In Revelation 12:10 Satan is labeled as the “accuser of the brethren” every day 24 hours a day. It’s too bad these so-called friends are used by satanic forces to accuse Job. (16:7-14).

Perhaps the main point of this passage is to teach us that sometimes God has to translate theory and theology into a painful experience before we can truly grasp what God is saying to us. Could it be that Job’s three friends knew this to be true and they were afraid that their theology might be tested like Job’s was?

Job 23 & 24

Job 23 & 24

          Job continues with a third round of debates, Job’s friends don’t give up. Let’s fast forward through the volley of words, to Job 23 & 24. This is where Job expresses the depths of his dilemma. It is here that Job quits trying to argue with his “not” friends’ answers, he simply cries out from the depths of his troubled heart. Even though his non-comforters are there, he cries directly to God. It is here that Job asks two great unanswerable questions, that humans ask still today.

1.)   Why is God seemingly absent from human affairs?

2.)   Why does he seem to disappear from our lives when we need him the most?

Job is honest about his pain and frustration. He can’t find the way to contact God and hear God’s answer’s to his questions. In spite of this he expresses an unshakeable confidence in God. (23: 6& 7)

Even within his confidence he feels abandoned, (23: 8-9) Where are you God?

Have you ever felt that way, abandoned? Unable to find him in your darkest moments? Why is my testing so severe?

1.)   VS 10 Job had knowledge of the testing process of God

A.)   Where did Job get this knowledge?

2.)   Vs 12 I find simply amazing Job had “Rhema” God spoke directly to Job…”I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread”

Spend some time thinking about this!

VS 17 My bible makes a reference that the darkness that shadowed his face could be interpreted as shadow of death.

          Expanded question:

          2A.) Why is God silent? Why doesn’t he seem to judge evil? (Job 24: 1-4) Job describes some of the injustices.

Job notes that while thieves and evil doers seem to flourish the poor and defenseless suffer hardships. (24: 5-12)

The question is “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” “He seems to ignore me.”

Job concludes that justice is not dismissed but delayed, we find the answer to why justice is delayed in Romans 2: 2-4 & 2 Peter 3:9.

If God executed justice expeditiously then who would be left?

Think back on the video we watched last time. Where was God when the family with the three boys were killed by the drunk driver, he lived and is only sentenced to only 8 years.