Job
Elihu Claims to Speak For God
Job had been wanting a man to represent him before God. This young man, Elihu, is willing to do just that. He wants to enlighten Job with his great wisdom (vv. 1-2). He says he is going to speak by the Spirit of God (vv. 3-4). Peter in his epistle wrote, “If any man speaks…
Job Replies to His Three Friends
All three of Job’s friends have spoken, and now it is his turn to speak again (v. l). Though he was in pain, he could still think. He opens with a sarcastic reference to the comments of all three visitors and accuses them of talking as if all wisdom began and ended with the …
Bildad Says Man is Inferior
We are now going to have a final word from Bildad. Bildad’s brief speech (the shortest in the book) emphasized the greatness of God (vv. 1-3) and the nothingness of man (vv. 4-6). Instead of attempting to refute Job, Bildad accused Job of pride, because he was claiming that …
Job Asserts His Integrity
As he concluded his final defense, Job named specific sins and denied that he had committed them. Having compared the past with the present, he reasserts his claim of innocence and gives his final statement concerning his integrity. He had not only avoided committing the sin of …
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
The word “leviathan†is the Hebrew word used to describe the “sea monsters†that were supposed to inhabit the The Mediterranean. In mythology, the leviathan was a many-headed monster that ruled the waters and feared no man. Job asks the Lord if He can capture …
Eliphaz Gives a Second Speech
This chapter contains Eliphaz’s second address to Job (vv. 1-35). Eliphaz thought he was a wise man, so he rebuked Job for his sins. Believed to be the oldest, and considered the wisest of Job’s three friends, he began his second speech by raising the question of whet …
Job Explains How He is Righteous
This chapter can be described as the hopelessness of the godless, apart from forgiveness; Job takes an oath (vv. 1-6). He repeated his charge that God was not treating him fairly (v. 2). He asked God to declare the charges against him, but the heavens had been silent. Job declared …
The First Speech of Bildad
The second of Job’s three friends, Bildad, jumps into Job’s troubles. He is obviously the most dogmatic and legalistic of the three friends. He calls Job a windbag full of hot air (vv. 1-2) and goes directly to the heart of Job’s complaining that God is unjust ( …
Job is Asking For a Showdown With God
Job asks to be heard (v. 17). He declared, with a degree of confidence, that he would be justified (v. 18). He could not conceive of a fair argument resulting in His condemnation (v. 19). Job has two desires (v. 20). His first desire was that God would remove His chastening hand …
Job Says He Longs For God
Instead of arguing with his friends, or compromising his integrity by giving in to Eliphaz’s appeal, Job ignores them completely and speaks to the Lord. Job has already made it clear that his dispute was not with man, but with God. Job has two complaints against the Lord: Go …