Free Psalms Video Course:
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What I Noticed Today (Job 25-29)
Job 25
Bildad’s response in Job 25 is the shortest of the chapters in Job. Bildad makes two main points:
- Job 25:1-3. God is great. He has dominion over the world.
- Job 25:4-6. Man is not (great). No man born of a woman can stand before the righteous God.
Job 26-31
Job’s lengthy third response to Bildad covers Job 26-31.
Job 26-28
First, Job berates Bildad for being absolutely no help at all (Job 26:1-4). Then Job goes on to summarize his argument much like an attorney would in a courtroom.
- Job 26:5-14. Job explains that God sees and knows everything and that by comparison, man knows almost nothing about God.
- Job 27: 1-6. Job takes an oath that as long as he lives, he will not speak falsely or deceitfully and that he will maintain his integrity to the end.
- Job 27:7-10. Job curses those who would rise up against him.
- Job 27:11-23. Job teaches his friends about the power of God as he describes God’s judgment of the wicked. The wicked will die, and no one will mourn for them (a terrible insult in Eastern culture). There is rejoicing when the wicked are destroyed.
- Job 28:1-11. Man cannot obtain wisdom by mining it out of the earth.
- Job 28:12-19. Man cannot buy wisdom; its value is greater than gold.
- Job 28:20-28. Wisdom comes only from God. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and understanding from turning away from evil.
Note: Job 20 repeats the two questions Job asked in verse 12.
Job 29
Job began his remarks by saying he wished he had never been born (Job 3), but now in Job 29, he recalls all the many blessings in his life that came prior to this crisis.
- Job 29:2-6. The first blessing he mentions is the presence of God in his life and that of his family.
- Job 7-11. Job occupied a position of prestige and received great respect from elders at the city gates.
- Job 12-17. People spoke well of Job because he was known to help the poor, orphans, the dying, widows, the blind, lame, needy, strangers, and the oppressed.
- Job 29:18-20. Job expressed confidence of God’s blessings in the future.
- Job 29:21-25. The final blessings Job mentions are that he had the privilege of being an encouragement and a help to others.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- We try to obtain wisdom and understanding by increasing our knowledge, but knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Wisdom comes from God, not from a seminar or a book.
- Despite the great tragedies that had come into his life, Job remained steadfast in his faith. Looking back over his life, he recognized the many great blessings that God had provided, and he was thankful. It is hard to reflect on blessings in the midst of great trials but seeing the blessings brings great balance to our lives.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
