27-Job 24 – Psalms 17
Jun. 27, 2009
This week in our study we are halfway through the Book of Job. Last week we saw how the Lord gave Satan permission to take away Job’s family, wealth, and health to teach the angels that the man would still be upright and not curse his creator. Because of his trouble Job’s wife rejected him, and his three friends that had come to be a comfort also turned against him because they would not understand. The three friends believed they possessed all the answers and became angry with Job when he refused to heed their advice. We are now in Chapter 25 where Bildad the Shuhite told Job that man is inferior to God. Job rebuked Bildad for his simple answers and understanding. He told him sarcastically what a help he had been. Job then went on and spoke of the greatness of God. Job continued to speak in Chapter 27 and said these words in verses 2-6 “As God lives, who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul, For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils,My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.“Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.“I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days.” These words from Job serve again to show that Satan was wrong in his prediction of Job’s attitude towards God after his loss. Job then spoke on the state and future of those who do not know the Lord and walk in His ways. In Chapter 28 Job spoke about the treasures man has found in the Earth. He spoke of precious metals and gemstones. He also spoke of how hard they were to find. In the next section he said that even though the treasures of the Earth were hard to find, the search for wisdom was harder still. Job’s words on wisdom were recorded in Chapter 28:12-13a “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? “Man does not know its value” Job said that the value of wisdom is greater than gold or silver, and by the end of the Chapter he revealed that the search for wisdom could be found in God. Job finished his words on wisdom in Chapter 28:23-28 “God understands its way, and He knows its place.“For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.“When He imparted weight to the wind and meted out the waters by measure,When He set a limit for the rain and a course for the thunderbolt, Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job then spoke in Chapter 29 about his past. He remembered the time before his trouble when he believed the Lord watched over him. He spoke with pride on his good works and about his righteousness. This was one of the first times Job showed his faults. Pride is a sin and all righteousness and good works come only from the Lord. After this Job contrasted his earlier state with his present state of humiliation. As much as Job spoke with pride about his past, he spoke with mourning on what had become of him. Job still could not understand why God had forsaken him. He again, in Chapter 31 stood up and asserted his integrity before his friends, but his words fell on deaf ears. Job made his last plea of innocence and finished talking. A change occurred in Chapter 32. Job and his three friends stopped their dialog and had reached an impasse. Job’s words were not believed, and his three friends stopped speaking because they believed Job was only righteous in his own eyes. A younger man named Elihu was also there and listened to the four older men as they spoke. He had kept his peace out of respect, but anger burned within him. He was angry with Job because he had justified himself before God, and also with the three other men because they could not find the answer to Job. He could not be silent any longer and began to speak. Elihu was also puffed up and believed the Spirit of God was in him and he had all the answers. He told the men that wisdom did not come from age, but is from God. For some reason Elihu believed that he was able to speak for God. I wonder sometimes what God thinks of us when we do the same thing? Here we have another who thinks they had all the answers. The truth was that none of them had any real idea what actually was the reason for Job’s distress. Elihu then went on and said that God was just and that Job deserved the His judgment. Even though Elihu knew nothing of Job or what caused his trouble, he was of the opinion that Job was one of the wicked. He said of Job in Chapter 34:35-37 “Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom. ‘Job ought to be tried to the limit, Because he answers like wicked men‘For he adds rebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.’” Elihu continued through the next several chapters to tell Job about God even though he had no real understanding or qualification to speak. Finally in Chapter 38, I believe the Lord had heard enough talk from his creation on Earth and decided to address Job out of a whirlwind. He said in Chapter 38:2-3 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me!” God wanted to know why Job was speaking without knowledge. He told him to stand up like a man and answer the questions he was asked. It seems like God said to Job “if you have all the answers, instruct Me!” God then asked Job a series of questions to find out if he had the authority to speak. He asked Job in Chapter 38:4-7 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” God wanted an answer from Job on where he was “in the beginning”. God went on and asked Job questions concerning what He, the creator of everything, had done in the universe. He also, by His questions let Job know what He alone controls. In Chapter 39 God spoke to Job about nature and the kingdom of animals He made on the Earth. Job was left speechless before the Lord in Chapter 40 and finally responds to his creator in verses 4-5 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice and I will add nothing more.” God was not satisfied and continued to ask Job to answer His questions and instruct Him. In this section God wanted to know if Job thought he was greater than Him. God told Job that if he possessed, and could do the things in the text, that He the Lord would do the words in Chapter 40:14“Then I will also confess to you, That your own right hand can save you.” God knew that Job did not possess these qualities and continued to speak to him. The Lord’s next words to Job were to show His power through the description of two of the powerful beasts He had made. God’s first example was the land animal known as Behemoth. This creature has been thought to represent a hippopotamus by its description, but we do not know for sure. The second creature was the water creature Leviathan. This animal may be a crocodile, but again we are not sure. We do know that Leviathan was an extremely strong creature. Job finally understood and spoke these words to the Lord in Chapter 42:2-6 “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You;Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” The Lord was pleased with Job’s repentance, but was angry with his three friends. Job spoke the truth about God, but his friends did not. God had the three men prepare burnt offerings while Job prayed for them. This pleased the Lord, and because of Job’s repentance and his prayer for his friends his fortunes were restored. The experiment was over and Satan was found wrong. Job’s latter days were blessed with much more than his earlier days. He lived a full life without knowing the real reason for his trouble. This ends the Book of Job. We will now move on to the Psalms. The Book of Psalms was known as “Praises” in the Hebrew Bible. It is the collection of poetry and songs that make up the Jewish hymnal. The individual Psalms were meant to be accompanied by musical instruments, but the musical notation was not recorded. Many of the Psalms have a title that tells the author and the type of instrument to be used. Each Psalm is also a work of poetry. The poetic style used is not based on rhyme and meter as English poetry, but is in the Hebrew style. Hebrew poetry is based on parallelism by contrasts, or by expressing the same idea in a different way in the next line. Some of the longest Psalms, like Psalm 119 is in the acrostic form which is based on alphabetical progression. The Psalms were written by David, Solomon, Asaph, Moses, and others, but all God-breathed. They form the basis of prayer, thanksgiving, and worship to the Lord. The Psalms cover praise, worship, deliverance, thanksgiving, and the coming Messiah who we know is Jesus. This week we will look at the first seventeen Psalms. Psalm 1 contrasts the two types of men, the righteous, and the wicked. It tells us that the righteous meditate on God’s word and delight in what they read. This man will prosper. The wicked, on the other hand, are inconsequential and will blow away like chaff and perish. Psalm 2 speaks of future things and the coming of Jesus to rule the nations during the end times. The events described in this Psalm will occur in our future. Psalm 3 is the first of many written by David. Many of his Psalms are prayers for deliverance from his enemies. This Psalm is a prayer that was spoken in the morning. The Psalm is divided by the word “Selah” which is believed to indicate a pause, crescendo, or a musical interlude. It is used in many of the Psalms. Psalm 4 also by David is similar to Psalm 3, but is an evening prayer. David placed his trust in God and knew that the Lord heard his prayers. Psalm 5 records David’s request for God’s protection from the wicked. David knew the Lord and realized that it came from him. David did not turn to man for help, he always relied on the Lord. We can learn a lot from David. Psalm 6 is a good example. David sinned as we all do, but he was greatly troubled when he did wrong. He realized the effects of his sin and who he needed to confess those sins to. He also knew he would be forgiven because of the Lord’s loving-kindness to him. In Psalm 7 we see that David turned to the Lord in his times of trouble. God has let us know through the words of David that He will deal with the wicked and reward those that rely on Him. Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same words. “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth” In between the Psalm speaks of the glory of God’s work and the place for man who He created. The Psalm also talks about the order of God’s creation. Psalm 9 is a Psalm of thanksgiving for God’s justice. David knew that God is forever and the wicked and evil would be dealt with. He rejoices in his salvation and his relationship with his God. The author of Psalm 10 asked why the Lord has allowed the wicked to prosper. The writer looked around and could see the evil of man around him and prayed that the Lord would do something about the injustice he has seen. In Psalm 11 David acknowledges that he can take refuge in the Lord. God will judge between the righteous and the wicked. Psalm 12 and Psalm 13 are both by David and both are prayers for help during times of trouble. David knew he had to turn to the Lord when he was faced with adversity. Psalm 14 is about the foolishness of man and their view of God. Paul used parts of this Psalm when he wrote his letter to the Romans that is part of the New Testament. Psalm 14:3b reads “There is no one who does good, not even one.” Paul wrote the verse in Romans 3:10 as “There is none righteous, not even one” Psalm 14:7 is prophetic and speaks of future events that had not occurred in David’s time. “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.” This verse speaks of the Jewish exile to Babylon, Jesus Christ, and Israel’s future restoration. In Psalm 15 David gives us God’s description of a godly man. It was written to tell us how we should walk before God. The title in the NASB is “Description of a Citizen of Zion”. We all should want to follow this pattern because Zion is not only Jerusalem, but also the City of God. If we have accepted Jesus as our savior we all will one day live in that city with Him. In Psalm 16 David describes the Lord as his portion in life and his deliverer in death. The Psalm is also prophetic where in the second half of verse 10 he tells the truth about the future state of Jesus after the crucifixion. “Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” Jesus did not suffer any bodily decay between the cross and the resurrection. We will finish up this week with Psalm 17. This is another Psalm of David where he prays for God’s protection against his oppressors. David uses the image of a bird protecting its young under its wings to describe his feeling of safety with the Lord. This ends our study for this week. Next week we will continue in the Book of Psalms.