Job 10:9 says, Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?  Having said that God created him, Job asks God to remember that.  Job also asks if God is going to return him to dust, to utterly destroy him.  We do not have to ask if God remembers if He created us, nor should we be overly concerned about when this life will end. God will be with us forever if we put our faith in Christ, or as in Job's case, if he just continued to put his faith in God.  Verse ten adds, Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?  Job was again asking why God, Who had created him, was now punishing him.  Job knew that he could think of nothing that he had done to deserve the punishment that he felt God was placing on Him.  Job was really stating that he believed that even the bad things in life came from God, but we know this is not true.   Verse eleven continues, Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.  Job was still reminding God that He was the Creator of life.  Verse twelve states, Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.  Job knew what it was like to be in the favor of God, but he still evidently felt that when he was suffering that he was out of God's favor.  He knew that God still preserved his spirit, but he no longer felt the presence of God in his life. If we do not feel God's presence in our lives today, we can be certain that He has not left us, but that we have left Him.  Verse thirteen adds, And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.  I believe that Job was saying that God knew what kind of person he had been.  We do not need to fear that God will ever forget His people.  Even in the worst of suffering, God is with us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.   Verse fourteen continues, If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.  Sin does indeed leave its mark on us, but through Christ we are acquitted of that sin and all the marks of sin are washed away.  Verse fifteen says, If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;  Job really didn't think he had done anything to deserve what he felt was punishment from God.  He said if he was wicked, he deserved to be punished, but even if he were righteous, he would not lift his head in defiance is what I believe he was saying.  He just wanted to understand why this was happening to him. Even if we feel unjustly treated today, we cannot stand in defiance and blame God.  Verse sixteen adds, For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.  Job felt that there was no place to escape the suffering he was enduring.  He felt God was hunting him like a lion and was showing Job how marvelously powerful God was.  God does not have to seek us, because He always knows exactly where we are, physically and spiritually, and the universe proclaims how powerful He is.  Verse seventeen continues, Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.  Job still believed that God was the direct cause of all his troubles.  We cannot attribute everything that happens in life to the direct hand of God.  The evil in the world is the result of the free will of people in opposition to God's will.  Verse eighteen states, Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!  I believe this is similar to a child today saying that they never asked to be born when things are not going the way they want them to in life.  Verse nineteen adds, I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.  Job continues with this thought about being better off if he had never been born.  We, as followers of Christ, must acknowledge that God is the giver of life, and that we should never question the wisdom of our birth.  Verse twenty continues, Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,  I believe that Job was saying that since his life seemed to be basically over, he just wanted it to end.  Verse twenty-one says, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; Job recognized that when life was over that there was no returning.  Verse twenty-two adds, A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.  As followers of Christ, we know that when we die, we do not go away into a place of darkness, but into the presence of the light of Christ Himself.

Job 10:1 says, My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.  Even though he was weary to his soul, Job said that he would not complain that God was unjust but that he would place his complaint and bitterness on himself.  He had just stated that he could not stand justified before God without a Mediator, but he could make his complaint known at least to those around him and to himself.  If we complain that God is treating us unfairly, we can really only complain to those around us looking for their understanding and maybe our own.  We cannot truthfully blame God for treating us unjustly.  Verse two adds, I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.  Job said when he spoke to God, he would ask God to not condemn him and to show him what he had done to cause all this suffering.  If we are suffering, we may feel the need to question God if we feel that He is the source of our suffering, and we don't know why He is punishing us.  Even so, we must realize that God is not the source of evil in the world, and if we are suffering, we do not need to blame God.  Just as God allowed Job's faith to be tested, He will allow our faith to be tested today.  We can be certain that God will not just arbitrarily bring suffering into our lives. Verse three continues, Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?  I believe that Job was basically asking if it was a good thing for God to despise someone that He had created.  Job may have despised his life and even have wished that he had never been born, but he was asking God how He could despise His creation.  We know that in the Garden, when God created man, He pronounced him very good.  Job was asking how God could now despise His creation.  We know that it is sin that God despises and not mankind.  We also know that suffering comes from the evil in the world and not from an arbitrary act of God. Verse four asks, Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?  Job recognized that God was much more than just another man.  God is not limited by physical constraints as are people.  Verse five adds, Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,  Job was still asking rhetorical questions.  He knew that God was eternal, just as he knew God was not limited in understanding the true nature of a person.  We may fool the world today by either our words or actions, but we will never fool God.  Verse six continues, That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?  Job was basically asking God, Who sees all and knows all, if He was searching for some sin Job had committed.  We know that God does not really have to search us to find out if we have sinned.  I believe that sin in the life of anyone, especially a Christian, stands out like a beacon before God.  We do not have to basically challenge God to find sin in our lives.  Verse seven declares, Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.  I believe that in effect Job was saying that God was punishing him without him doing anything to deserve punishment.  Job may have been held up by God for his righteousness, but Job failed to remain in a right relationship with God when he began to question God.  We are called to put our faith in God, no matter what happens in life and should never question His love for us.  Job said that there was none to deliver him out of the suffering that he felt was coming from God, but we know today that we have a Mediator in Christ, just as Job did.  We must remember that Christ died for all sins for all time.  Verse eight adds, Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.  Job was telling God that He had created him but was now destroying him.  In effect, I believe that Job was saying that God was to blame if he sinned.  God created Job, so Job's sins should ultimately be God's fault.  We know that we cannot blame God for the sin in the world.  Sin is the fault of man's rebellion against God, and if we attempt to blame God for sin in our lives, then we truly are guilty of sin.

Job 9:23 says, If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.  I do not believe that Job was saying that if trouble comes to the innocent, those who put their faith in God, that He laughs, or is unconcerned about their suffering.  We know that when God's people suffer, He suffers with them.  We might think that God doesn't suffer, but if that were true, how do we think He felt when Christ was on the cross.  This was a truly innocent man dying for all the sins of all the people for all time.  Verse twenty-four adds, The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?  Job said that the earth was given to the wicked and there was no justice in the world.  The eyes of the judges were covered.  We might feel the same way today, when it seems that evil man prosper and God's people suffer, but we must remember that this life is only temporary.  Verse twenty-five continues, Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.  Job once more speaks of how fast his days are slipping away.  I do not believe that Job was speaking of the hours of the day passing away quickly necessarily but was likely saying that the end of his days was fast approaching.  Job felt that his good days, days of prosperity, were past and would never come again.  He could see no good in his life, so prayed for his death to come quickly.  Verse twenty-six states, They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.  Again, I believe that Job was speaking more of life in general coming to a rapid end, just as his days when he was prosperous came to a rapid end.  It was more than each day passing quickly away.  When we are suffering, the days seem to drag by more than they seem to fly by.  Verse twenty-seven adds, If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:  I believe that Job was saying that he knew he should quit complaining to or about God, but in his suffering, he found that he couldn't.  We often know that we are viewing God unjustly, but that may not keep us from crying out against Him.  Verse twenty-eight continues, I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.  I believe that Job was saying that God would not hold him innocent because of all his complaining about his sorrows, or suffering.  We today can likewise never justify complaining against God.  We have to know that our physical condition can never determine our spiritual condition.  In verse twenty-nine Job asks, If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?  Job said that if he was wicked, if he was indeed condemned for his sins that he could not correct, then why should he even try.  We cannot find restoration with God through our own efforts, so if we are attempting to do that, then we are indeed working in vain.  Verse thirty adds, If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;  I believe Job was saying that if he made himself physically clean that it would do no good.  Verse thirty-one continues, Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.  Job said if he cleaned himself up physically that he would still be thrown back in the ditch.  People in Job's day put a lot of stock in physical purity being a sign of spiritual purity, and even if Job were clean, he would still be filled with sores and viewed as unclean.  Job was asking with this understanding by those around him why he should even bother.  Verse thirty-two says, For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.  Job recognized that God was not just another person, or even just one of many gods, but that He was the one true God.  Since God was so much superior to Job, Job asked how God and he could come together in judgment.  There is really no need to plead our case before God, because He already knows not only all our actions, but our thoughts as well.  Verse thirty-three adds, Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.  In Job's day, people were looking ahead for the Mediator between God and them, but Job recognized the need for One to stand before God in his place.  We today have that Mediator in Christ.  No outward cleansing nor self-justification will ever make us right with God.  We are only made right through the Mediator, Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-four continues, Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:  We know that through Christ the rod of punishment has been removed, though the rod of correction may remain, but Job was still looking for that assurance.  Verse thirty-five concludes, Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.  I believe that Job was saying that if he had this Mediator, then he would feel free to speak to God without fear of his own unworthiness.  We today have that Mediator and can speak freely to God without fear of our own unworthiness.

Job 9:01 says, Then Job answered and said,  Job again waited until Bildad was finished speaking before responding, just as he had with Eliphaz..  It is too bad that we often do not seem to have that same ability.  Verse two adds, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?  He acknowledged that God could not enter into a relationship with evil people, but asked how anyone of their own ability could make themselves just with God.  We know that the answer is that we cannot.  If people were able to justify themselves before God, then the death of Jesus would have been unnecessary.  Verse three continues, If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.  Job said that if God were to ask us a thousand questions, we wouldn't be able to answer even one.  I don't believe that he meant asking us something trivial but asking us questions that show we know anything that would make us on par with God.  As Paul would say, we see through a glass darkly.  If we begin to define God by our understanding, we will always fail.  Verse four states, He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?  True wisdom comes only from God.  His wisdom comes from His heart, His very being.  Since God is all wise and all powerful, Job asks who can stand against God and prosper.  It might look temporarily like the evil prosper, but God sees things from an eternal perspective.  Our limited strength and knowledge will never stand against God.  Verse five adds, Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.  Job continued to speak of the power of God, Who not only created the mountains, but could remove them as well.  Even the mountains could not stand against God's anger, so what hope did man have of doing so.  Verse six continues, Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.  We need to remember that God sustains not just the earth but the universe in the proper orbit.  It is not from some freak accident, but by the will of God that there is order in the universe.  In the next three verses, Job continues to speak of the power of God.  Verse seven states, Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.  Verse eight adds, Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.  Verse nine continue, Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.  As I had just stated, God not only sustains the earth, but also the sun, stars, and all the heavenly bodies.  We either believe that God is Who He says He is and has this power, or we deny Him.  God cannot be less than He says He is.  Job acknowledged God to be Who He said He was, and so must we.  Verse ten says, Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.  Job said that we can never know all the great things and wonders that God does.  What we can know is that God loves all people enough to send His Son to die to redeem everyone who will believe in Jesus Christ.  Verse eleven adds, Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.  Job said that when God passed by him at this point that he was unable to feel God's presence.  We know as followers of Christ that if we ever feel that somehow God has forsaken us, we only need to look to the Holy Spirit for assurance that God is with us, no matter what.  Verse twelve continues, Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?  I believe that Job was asking who had the power to stand against God or the wisdom to question Him.  Even if our life seems to be overwhelming us and we cannot understand why, we need to simply continue living by faith.  We do not have to understand everything in life, only that God redeems us forever through Christ.  Verse thirteen concludes, If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.  Though God has a right to be angry with those who sin against Him, through Christ His anger is withdrawn.  The only way we can stand before God and not face His anger is through faith in Christ as Savior and Lord.  For Job, this was faith in the coming Messiah, or Redeemer.

Job 8:8 says, For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:  Bildad asked Job to not just take Eliphaz and his word for the fact that what they were saying was true, but to look to what those who had come before them had to say.  This is what we do when we look to the Bible, but we must never look to the Bible simply to prove our point.  Gilead was looking to the believers who had come before to prove his point and not simply to prove the nature of God.  Verse nine adds, (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)  Bildad confessed that his friends and he had not lived long enough to know all the truth of God, but that they could look to those who had come before them to verify that truth.  We should never use the Bible and its record of those who came before us as a tool to support our beliefs.  We must align our beliefs with the teachings of the Bible instead.  Verse ten continues, Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?  Bildad was asking Job if he could not learn from what his ancestors had taught.  We may indeed learn from our ancestors, but they are not the ultimate truth.  Only through the gospel can we truly begin to understand God.  Verse eleven states, Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?  Bildad was now turning to nature to prove his point.  I believe that he was comparing the mire that the rush grew out of with hypocrisy.  Verse twelve adds, Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.  Gilead said the rush, or reed, might look great, but it would wither away before those herbs that were rooted in good soil.  Verse thirteen continues, So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish: I believe that Bildad was telling Job that Job had been a hypocrite and had forgotten the path of God, and like a reed growing in the mire he had been cut down.  Verse fourteen says, Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web.  A spider web is almost invisible but can easily trap its victims.  Bildad said the lies of the hypocrite was the same way, trapping the unsuspecting, but unable to stand in the strength of God's truth.  Verse fifteen adds, He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.  I believe Bildad was saying that the hypocrite may attempt to find rest, or peace, in the things he has acquired, but he will not be able to.  If we are not living by the truth of God, there is no place we can go to find real peace.  Verses sixteen continues, He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.   Verse seventeen concludes, His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.  I believe that Bildad was comparing a hypocrite to a plant rooted in stones.  They might grow up pretty and green, but they would wilt in a strong sun, just as the hypocrite would wilt when adversity comes.  Though this may be true, it does not mean that every time adversity comes to a follower of God that it means they are a hypocrite.  Verse eighteen states, If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.  Bildad said that if the hypocrite is destroyed, it is like God saying He had never even seen him, much less having had a relationship with him.  Verse nineteen adds, Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.  I believe that Bildad was saying that Job's descendants would be cut off, but plenty of other people were there to serve God faithfully.  God does find joy in the fact there are many people who can choose to serve Him, but that does not mean that He cuts off entire families because of the sin of one, as Bildad seemed to imply about Job.  Verse twenty continues, Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:  Bildad was again saying that prosperity was a sign of being in a right relationship with God and that suffering was a sign of God's punishment of evil people.  We know that God indeed does nor cast away a perfect man, but there are none except Christ.  God will allow His followers to be tested in their faith, but will never cast anyone away because of anything but their own rejection of Christ as Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-one says, Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.   Bildad was telling Job that when he repented and made things right with God that Job would once more rejoice in life.  Verse twenty-two adds, They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.  Bildad was again stating that those who are faithful to God will prosper materially, but we know that this is not what God's word teaches us.

Job 8:1 says, Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,  Another of Job's friends who had come to comfort him, Bildad the Shuhite, now begins to tell Job what he believes to be Job's problem.  There was not a shouting match between Job and his friends, but they spoke in order and allowed Job an opportunity to respond.  I believe that today we have too often lost this ability to reason together.  We want to shout down the other person's point of view without listening and responding respectfully.  Verse two adds, How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?  Bildad had not been convinced by Job's reply to Eliphaz.  He had listened, but now he was saying that Job was just speaking empty words.  We today might say that in our opinion, Job was just blowing hot air.  Bildad was convinced that he knew that Job was being punished because of some great sin in Job's life, but like Eliphaz, he was wrong.  Just because more than one person attempts to judge our relationship to God, it doesn't mean that they are right.  Verse three continues, Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?  Bildad was asking if God would punish the innocent, which would be a perversion of justice.  We must remember that God was not punishing Job but was holding him up as a truly righteous man.  Being a follower of Christ does not exempt us from suffering in life, and actually may lead to just the opposite.  We are called to follow God, and we can be certain that when we do, that suffering does not come from God.  Verse four states, If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;  Bildad said that Job's children had died due to transgression on their part.  Though they were guilty of transgression, or sin, as we all are, this was not what caused their death.  We can also be certain that they did not die without an opportunity to make things right between themselves and God. Verse five adds, If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; Bildad, though starting his statements with an if, I believe really meant them as statements of fact.  He believed that Job wasn't really seeking God and asking Him for forgiveness or restoration.  We must never assume that we know another person's relationship with God, especially based on material factors.  Verse six continues, If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.  Bildad was equating serving God with being blessed materially.  He believed that Job was suffering because of some unconfessed sin and that if he would confess and ask God for restoration that he would be blessed materially once more.  We can never allow the idea that if we serve God we are going to be made rich to become a part of the gospel.  Verse seven concludes, Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. I believe that Bildad was telling Job that when Job confessed and made things right with God that he would be even richer than he was before.  I believe that if we only repent in the hope of being blessed materially that it isn't really repenting.  Repentance can have no conditions attached.  We simply place our lives in God's hands and commit to being faithful to Him no matter what happens in life.

Job 7:11 says, Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.  Though his friends were telling Job that he should just quietly repent, he said that he would not be silent.  Matthew Henry points out that even in great suffering, we would be better off praising God than complaining about our condition.  We can be sure that Satan will use every bit of pain and suffering in life to attempt to get people to deny God.  Verse twelve adds, Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?  I believe Job was asking if he had been so powerful that he had to suffer so greatly to be brought down from his pride.  Job may have felt that he was being punished because he had become too powerful in his eyes, and maybe in the eyes of the world, but he recognized his weakness in the eyes of God.  We will never be so powerful or successful that we are any threat to God, nor so weak that we are still not precious to Him.  Verse thirteen continues, When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;  Job said that his bed and couch should have offered comfort, but they didn't.  We look to our bed to bring us restful peace, but often if we are sick it is only a place to toss and turn.  Verse fourteen states, Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:  Even when Job was looking for rest in sleep, his dreams and visions terrified him.  Satan had been given free rein to torment Job, and he didn't give up with just the physical.  He tormented Job even in his sleep.  Hopefully we will never know a full-scale attack from Satan, but if we do, we only have to keep our faith in God to defeat him.  Verse fifteen adds, So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.  Job was ready, even to his soul, for death to come.  We do know that when this life is over that the spirit lives on, and we should be ready to glorify God for this reason.  No matter how bad things get here, we are assured of an everlasting life with God if we only accept the salvation that He has made available to us through Christ.  Verse sixteen continues, I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.  Job said he loathed, or hated his days as they were vanity, or nothing.  All he could do was simply stay alive.  We may have days when we feel the same way, that we are just existing without real purpose, but we need to remember that as followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit is always with us to strengthen and guide us.  Verse seventeen asks, What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?  We might well ask what man is that God sets him in such high regard, but we know the answer is that man is God's creation, created with a purpose to love and serve God.  Verse eighteen adds, And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?  Just like Job, we can be sure that no matter how bad life may seem, if we are truly followers of Christ, God will never abandon us.  He will be with us morning, night and every second of the day.  Verse nineteen continues further, How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?  I believe Job was asking why God wouldn't leave him to die.  Job was seeing his life only from his view, and not God's view.  Verse twenty says, I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?  Job had been declared righteous by God and Job had declared his innocence in relationship to his suffering, but here he declared that he had sinned.  No matter how righteous a person may be, all are sinners who can only be restored to God through faith in Christ.  We cannot save ourselves or make ourselves acceptable to God by our own abilities.  Verse twenty-one adds, And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.  Job asked why God could not just forgive him and let him die.  Hopefully, we will never reach that state in life, but even if we do, we must remember that through Christ we are already forgiven.

Job 7:1 says, Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?  Job had been wishing that he had never been born, but here acknowledges that man has an allotted time on earth.  I believe that he was saying that he thought his time on earth should have come to an end.  We could interpret this to mean that no matter what we do we are going to live a certain number of days and then die at a previously appointed time.  I personally do not believe that we our time of death is determined even before we are born.  I believe that free will often leads to actions that shorten a person's life.  We can say that God takes these free will actions into account when determining the length of a person's life, but to me that really negates the concept of free to will.  Job also said that a hireling can expect his wages at the end of the day so he can go away to rest.  I believe Job was saying he felt that he deserved rest, even if it came by his death.   Verse two adds, As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:  As just stated, Job felt that those who had worked deserved their reward and rest, so did he.  Verse three continues, So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.  I believe that Job was saying that although he continued to live, or at least exist, there was no purpose to his life except suffering.  He had no usefulness in the day and could not even rest at night.  Hopefully, we will never reach the point of feeling that life is without purpose and only full of suffering.  If we are followers of Christ, we must put our faith in Him and know that even when we do not understand why certain things are happening in life, He still has a purpose for us.  Verse four states, When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.  All Job could hope for at night was for it to be over, since he could get no rest anyway.  Job could find no rest from his suffering, and he felt that God was causing it.  I believe this added to his suffering.  If we believe that everything in life is a direct action of God, and we are suffering, then we have to believe that God is punishing us.  If we are sure that we have done nothing to deserve this punishment as a follower of Christ, how much greater the suffering will be.  Verse five adds, My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.  Job recognized how he looked physically to those around him, but they could not see how he looked spiritually.  We should never judge a person's spiritual condition by their physical condition.  Even then, God had not given up on Job.  Verse six continues, My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.  We would think that days of suffering would pass slowly, but Job said his were passing rapidly and without hope.  I believe that Job meant his days left to live were quickly passing since he was in such terrible shape and he saw no hope of recovery.  Still, as long as there is life there should be hope.  Verse seven says, O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.  Job said that his life was as invisible as the wind to those around him.  His life served no purpose, and he could see no good in it.  If we begin to feel that no one sees us in our struggles and we can see no good in life, we need to simply look to God.  We are always in God's sight.  Verse eight adds, The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.  Job fully expected to die soon.  Physically, he would cease to exist.  He saw this as his only way to the end of his suffering.  Verse nine adds, As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.  Job said this physical body shall never return from the grave as it now exists.  We will have a new and glorious body when Christ returns to claim His church, those that believe in Him.  Verse ten continues, He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.  Job said that once we die, we are not coming back to this world.  We will be in a world without sin, suffering and death.  We may be forgotten by the world, but we will never be forgotten by nor separated from God.

Job 9:14 says, How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?  After speaking about the power and majesty of God, Job now begins to speak of his own inability to talk to God with any words that could justify himself before God.  If we attempt to claim that we are perfect and God has treated us unfairly, our very words show our hypocrisy.  Job had been accused of being a hypocrite by Bildad, but Job acknowledged his unworthiness to even answer God.  Job was not claiming to be perfect and therefore able to stand before God by his own righteousness, but asked how he could hope to choose the right words to reason with God.  We can never question the wisdom of God because we feel that we are righteous in all that we do.  Verse fifteen adds, Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.  Job said that even if he could claim righteousness, he could still not make demands on God.  He could only come to God in supplication, asking God to hear Him.  We can never make demands on God but must come to Him as humble servants.  Verse sixteen continues, If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.  Job felt that his prayers were so ineffective that even if God did what he was asking it wouldn't be due to his prayers.  I believe Job felt at this point that God was just going to do what He wanted to do when He wanted to do it.  This made God an impersonal God, but we know that is not the case.  God always hears and answers the prayers of His people.  We may not like the answer, nor even the timing of the answer, but we can never believe that God does not hear us.  If we believe that everything is preordained, then we must say as Job did that our prayers do not matter.  Verse seventeen states, For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.  Job stated his reason for believing that God did not hear Him.  Job said God was causing him unbearable suffering without cause.  No matter how much we suffer, we can never blame God nor claim that we are without any guilt in our lives.  Job was now basically saying aloud that God was being unjust with Him.  Verse eighteen adds, He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.  I believe that Job was basically saying that God was responsible for his bitterness.  If we become bitter in our attitude toward God today, we cannot blame it on God.  We cannot even blame it on the devil, because we alone are responsible for our attitude toward God.  Events in this world should never determine our attitude toward God, but we must remain faithful to Him no matter what.  Verse nineteen continues, If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?  Job acknowledged the power of God.  He felt powerless in God's sight. Our strength and wisdom are indeed powerless in God's sight, but through faith in Him, we are made strong.  Verse twenty says, If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.  Job said he could not justify himself with his words, and that if he said he was perfect that even his speech would be perverse.  If a person claims to be able to stand before God today innocent by their own ability, then what they are saying is perverse.  We cannot make ourselves right with God by our own actions but can only do so by faith in God's redeeming act.  Through acknowledgement of our own sins and faith in Christ alone can we be restored to a right relationship with God.  Verse twenty-one adds, Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.  Job said that even if he had been perfect, in his present condition he would despise his soul.  In his suffering, Job could see no reason for even his soul, the animating force of life, to live on.  Verse twenty-two continues, This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.  Those that are perfect, though there really is but One, and those that are wicked do all meet the same fate in this life, and that is they all die.  I believe Job was stating this as an indictment against God though.  He was blaming God for evil coming to good people, but we must remember that God is not responsible for the evil in the world.

Job 6:15 says, My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;  Even though only Eliphaz had spoken, Job felt that all his brethren had dealt deceitfully with him. Those who had been his friends had offered him no comfort, and those who had come to see him offered nothing but silence or judgment so far. We need to be better friends to those who are suffering around us and offer them hope and comfort through God.  Those who had been his friends had deserted him even before these three came to him.  Sometimes in adversity we find out that friends really aren't friends, as they no longer even want to be around us.  Verse sixteen adds, Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:  Job said the true nature of those who called themselves his friends were like black ice hidden under the snow, a danger without being seen.  Verse seventeen continues, saying, What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.  Job said that when things started to get warm that his friends vanished.  If they couldn't stand with him when things were just warm, their friendship was definitely consumed when things got hot.  Verse eighteen states, The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.  I believe that Job was saying that his friends not only turned against him, but they left the leadership of God as well.  If we are truly following God, He will never lead us to desert those who are in need, especially our fellow believers.  Verse nineteen adds, The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.  I believe that Job was telling us that when we get off the path that God has for us to follow that there are many enemies waiting to destroy us.  Verse twenty continues, They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.  I believe that Job was saying that those who look for hope in the things of this world will always be disappointed in their search.  Verse twenty-one says, For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.  Job said his friends were of no comfort to him since they saw how he had fallen so low and were afraid it would affect them as well.  We can never let fear control us as we follow God's will for our lives.  Verse twenty-two adds, Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?  Job said he did not send for these three friends, nor did he ask anything of them.  If we willingly go to help a friend in need, we should be there to actually help them and not to judge or condemn them.   Verse twenty-three continues, Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?  Job said he didn't ask for their protection or deliverance.  He was actually ready for his life to just be over.  Verse twenty-four states, Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.  I believe that Job was saying that if his friends actually had something to teach him, to help him understand why he was in such torment, he would listen and not interrupt them.  If we go to those in trouble today, we need to have words that will offer understanding to them, and not condemnation.  Verse twenty-five adds, How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?  Job said that words of truth had power, but simply arguing based on faulty logic was worthless.  When we enter into arguments simply to prove our point, and not to teach about God's will for us, our arguments are in vain.  Verse twenty-six continues, Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?  Job asked them what they hoped to accomplish with their accusations against Him.  Job continues this question in verse twenty-seven says, Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.  I believe that Job was saying that his friends looked forward to condemning him for his perceived sins.  We need not look for reasons to condemn the less fortunate but to offer them support instead.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.  Job asked his friends to actually look at him and not his condition.  He said when they did, they would know he wasn't lying.  We should never judge people by their material circumstances but should actually look at who they are under God's guidance.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.  Job asked his friends to return in righteousness, or I believe under God's guidance.  Verse thirty concludes, Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?  Job asked if he had said anything that could be viewed as iniquity, stating that he could still distinguish between what was the truth and what was a lie.  We must always reach out to people with the truth of God and never rely on our own understanding.  Job's friends thought they knew why he was suffering, but they were wrong.

Job 6:1 says, But Job answered and said,  Job had listened to Eliphaz, and now he was ready to answer him.  Sometimes we need to listen to what others have to say, but we need to answer them through faith.  Verse two adds, Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!  Job wished that his grief and calamity, or suffering could be accurately judged impartially.  When we as followers of Christ suffer in this world, we know that non-believers will never judge us fairly.  They will use our suffering as an indictment against God.  We must hope that fellow believers will not judge us to be guilty of some sin, but even if they don't, the non-believers will simply say that is due to our unfounded faith.  Only God can truly judge us impartially.  Verse three continues, For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.  Job said his grief bore down on him more than the weight of the sands of the seas and that this great weight even swallowed up his words.  I believe that he was telling his friends that they could not begin to understand his suffering.  I think that at times today God's people suffer in ways that other believers cannot understand. Sometimes there may be no physical signs of this suffering, but that does not mean that it is not real.  Verse four states, For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.  I believe that Job was saying that the physical suffering did not compare to the mental anguish of feeling that God had abandoned him.  Job knew of no reason for his seeming abandonment by God.  If we are suffering today, as followers of Christ, we can be certain that God has not abandoned us.  He will be with us no matter what.  Verse five adds, Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?  I believe that Job was asking if even the animals were not content when their needs were met.  There was no need for them to cry out for what they already had.  Likewise, Job had not complained when his needs were met.  We might think that normal, but many people do complain when they are blessed, or at least do not thank God for their blessings.  Verse six continues, Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?  I believe Job was saying that anything he now ate was unsavory.  He had lost pleasure even in eating.  Verse seven says, The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.  I believe that Job was speaking of the physical restrictions that God's followers had placed on them in order to remain spiritually pure.  Job would not have even touched the food that was now his diet, nor a person such as he had become.  Verse eight adds, Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!  What Job was longing for was not restoration and a fulfilling life again, but he was still wishing for death.  No matter how bad things get, we cannot afford to reach the point that we regret even being born.  Verse nine continues, Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!  Job still saw God as the One Who sustained life.  Job was still not saying that he was going to end his on life.  Verse ten states, Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.  Job did not see death as final, but he saw comfort with God after this life.  If he saw everything ceasing at death, there would be no comfort in death.  Verse eleven adds, What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?  I believe that Job reached the point of seeing his life continuing as being without any hope.  We need to be careful that we don't reach the same point.  As long as we put our faith in God, He will give us the hope and strength to remain faithful to the end of this life.  Verse twelve continues, Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass.  I believe Job was saying that his strength was limited.  He could not bear his suffering as would a stone or brass, but he was a living person who had to endure the suffering.  Verse thirteen asks, Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?  I believe he was asking if he could heal himself by his own power.  We know that the only way that we can be restored to God is by the action that God took when Christ died for us.  We cannot restore ourselves to God, and at this point Job still felt abandoned by God.  Verse fourteen adds, To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.  Job said that those who were suffering should be offered pity, or more accurately the comfort from their friends.  We don't need to judge the relationship of other Christians with God if they are suffering.  I believe that Job was saying that Eliphaz was not speaking under God's leadership.

Job 5:21 says, Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.  This is really a continuation of what Eliphaz had said in the last couple of verses.  God will deliver His people, not only from famine and war, but also from the scourge of the tongue, or those who would speak evil of them.  As Christians, this does not mean that people will never speak badly about us, but that even if they do, God will always be with us to deliver us in the end.  I do believe that we can say that even if he didn't acknowledge it that at this time Eliphaz was speaking evil of Job.  Elipaz was telling Job that he was suffering because of some sin in his life, and we know this wasn't the case.  When we see Christians suffering, as has already been said, we need to remember that this does not mean that they are guilty of sin in their lives.  Satan is going to try to discredit those who are most faithful to God.  Verse twenty-two adds, At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.  I believe that Eliphaz was telling Job that if he was really faithful to God that instead of crying out against God that Job would be laughing and unafraid of the destruction that had fallen on Him.  It is easy for someone who has not faced adversity, especially the crippling kind Job faced, to say that as followers of God we should not let it affect us.  We may know that in the end we will be redeemed and that the things of this world ultimately don't matter, but that does not mean that we will not at times ask God why we are suffering.  Verse twenty-three continues, For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.  Eliphaz said that when we are at peace with God, we are at peace with all of His creation.  Though that will ultimately be true, that is not the case today.  Verse twenty-four states, And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.  This was just a continuation of the idea of being at peace with the world.  Eliphaz was telling Job that when he was right with God that he would live at peace in his household and then he should not sin.  This is the concept of serving God for earthly rewards and we know it is not what the gospel teaches us.  Verse twenty-five adds, Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.  This is a further teaching of material blessings being a sign of obedience to God and adversity being a sign of a person having sin in their life.  Verse twenty-six continues, Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.  Eliphaz told Job that if he was obedient to God that he would live a long and happy life.  We know this is not the case, as many faithful followers of God died very young, and many died because of their faith in God. Verse twenty-seven concludes, Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.  Basically, he was telling Job not to argue with him, because he knew the truth after much studying.  We need to understand that people can do all the studying they want to, even of the Bible, and still come to the wrong conclusions if they are not studying under the leadership of God.  We don't need to claim that our conclusions cannot be disputed if they are not consistent with the teachings of the Bible.

Job 5:12 says, He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.  I believe that Eliphaz was again proclaiming that evil, or crafty, people will never prosper for long before God will punish them.  I believe he was applying this to Job's life.  He was saying that Job had prospered for a while, but God had struck him down due to his sinfulness.  This is the danger of a prosperity gospel.  If God is making us rich in the eyes of the world due to our goodness, then if any trouble comes God must be punishing us for sin in our lives.  We need to acknowledge that material blessings do not mean we are faithfully following God, nor does the lack of material blessings mean that we are guilty of sin.  Verse thirteen adds, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.  Eliphaz was still speaking of material possessions and God's will.  I believe he was saying that people might become rich by their own craftiness, but eventually God would strike them down.  Verse fourteen continues, They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.  I believe that Eliphaz was saying that those who did not rely on God for their well-being were not able to see the truth of God.  They were stumbling around in darkness, unable to see the light.  We today stumble around in darkness until we see the Light, Jesus Christ.  When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we live in the light of God.  Verse fifteen states, But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.  Eliphaz told Job that God took care of the poor when they were confronted by the mighty.  We today would do better to look to God for strength and deliverance than to look to the powers of the world.  I believe that Eliphaz was also telling Job that since he was suffering so greatly that he must not be following God's will for his life.  We must never equate material blessings and power with the fact that someone is following God's will.  Verse sixteen adds, So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.  Eliphaz said that the poor had hope in God.  I believe that he was saying that though he believed that Job had brought suffering on himself that Job could look to God in hope, even though he was now very definitely poor.  Verse seventeen continues, Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:  Eliphaz said that Job should be happy because God was correcting, or chastising, him and that Job certainly had no right to complain about it.  If we know for sure that we are suffering because God is using this to correct some sin in our life, we should be happy.  We are told that those whom God loves He chastises.  Still, we cannot make the assumption that Eliphaz did, which was that all suffering must be caused by God correcting us for sin in our lives.  Verse eighteen says, For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.  Eliphaz said that even though God wounded and made someone sore, that God would also restore them.  I believe the implication was that this would happen when they acknowledged their sin.  We cannot assume that if a Christian is suffering today that it is because God is correcting or chastising them, and they simply need to confess whatever sin may be in their life to be restored.  We are told that we can expect to be reviled and persecuted because of our faith in God.  Verse nineteen adds, He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.  I believe that he was telling Job that God would deliver him if he simply repented, no matter how bad the suffering, and it would be done to keep evil from destroying him.  Verse twenty continues, In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.  Eliphaz said that God would deliver us from death in famine and war if we were faithful to Him.  We know that God will indeed deliver us spiritually from death through Christ, but that does not mean that we will not suffer physically due to our faith in Him.  Just as Christ was the suffering Servant, so must we be also.

Job 5:1 says, Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?  Eliphaz was basically asking Job to call on anyone who would say that it was not something that Job had done wrong that was causing his suffering. A person is the only one who can state for certain their relationship to God.  There may be no one else who will defend someone when it looks as though they are being punished by God for some sin, but as long as the person being accused knows that he or she has remained faithful to God that is all that really matters.  Even though Job was guilty of questioning God, he knew that sin had not brought his suffering to him.  We must always stand firm in our relationship to God, no matter what the world may say about us.  Verse two adds, For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.  I believe that Eliphaz was telling Job that his wrath at God was foolish and would only kill him.  If we become angry at God for whatever reason it can only lead us to more suffering.  We are indeed foolish to question God and especially to be angry with Him.  Eliphaz was also saying that Job was wrong to envy those around him who were still healthy and prosperous, as was Eliphaz himself.  We today need to live without denying success to other people, especially fellow Christians.  If we are suffering, we still need to rejoice in their success.  The reverse is also true.  If they are suffering, we can never rejoice in their suffering.  Verse three continues, I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.  I believe that Eliphaz was saying that he had seen foolish ideas about God and suffering become established.  He was saying that Job was foolish to think that his suffering was due to anything other than his own sinfulness.  Verse four states, His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.  Eliphaz was in effect saying that Job's sin was responsible for the death of his children.  If Job were not suffering enough, this would certainly add to his suffering.  We need to offer true comfort to those fellow believers who are suffering and not add guilt to their suffering.  Verse five adds, Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.  Eliphaz was still proclaiming that those guilty of sin would eventually have everything taken away from them, just as had happened to Job.  We know that this is not the case with Job and not even in the world today.  Verse continues, Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;  Eliphaz was telling Job that suffering does not come from nowhere.  He said suffering did just spring up without a person causing it by sinful actions.  Verse seven says, Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.  I believe that Eliphaz was saying that by nature, people are born to face trouble when they aren't following God's will.  Some today still teach that earthly suffering is always a result of a person sinning, but we know this is not what the Bible teaches.  Verse eight adds, I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:  Eliphaz actually gave Job some good advice here, but for the wrong reason.  He was telling Job to seek God for forgiveness for his sins that had led to Job's current condition.  We should always advise fellow believers to look to God if they are suffering but must never judge them as being guilty of bringing the suffering on themselves because of sin in their lives.  Verse nine continues, Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:  God does indeed do great things in the world today, and as His followers we should always acknowledge that fact.  Verse ten states, Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:  Eliphaz said that God is responsible for sustaining the world.  I believe the implication was that if Job had been faithful to God, he would not be suffering.  Verse eleven adds, To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.  I believe that Eliphaz was telling Job that if he would repent that he would be restored to prosperity.  Again, we must be careful that we never associate material blessings as being a sign of obedience to God and suffering to be a sign of sin in the life of a person.

Job 4:10 says, The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.  Eliphaz may have been using the lion to represent nations that had come to power and then fell.  He could also have been using the analogy to represent Job, who had once been powerful, but now was fallen.  Verse eleven adds, The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.  Eliphaz said that when the lion got old that it was no longer powerful, and I believe he was saying that Job's faith was the same way.  For a while Job had been prosperous, but now Eliphaz was telling Job that he had been a hypocrite and was now as powerless as an old lion.  Verse twelve continues, Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.  Epiphaz began to relate a vision than he had from God, whether after coming to see Job or some time before.  He said the vision came to him secretly.  We know before the coming of Christ that God often spoke to His people in visions, and He may still today to help us better understand His purpose for our lives.  Verse thirteen states, In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,  Eliphaz said the vision came to him at night.  When we are asleep and the noise and cares of the world are shut out, then God may speak to us, but we must never confuse dreams with visions from God.  I believe we will know the difference between the two.  Verse fourteen adds, Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.  He says that the vision that he had literally caused him to shake all over.  When God does speak to us, we should listen in awe that He would do so.  God's word to us should have an impact.  Verse fifteen continues, Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:  Eliphaz recognized this as more than a dream, stating that he saw a spirit pass before his face.  We might say that Eliphaz was having a nightmare, but I believe that God made him aware that it was God speaking to him.  I believe that as followers of Christ we will always recognize God's voice, no matter how He speaks to us.  Verse sixteen says, It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,  Eliphaz said that the spirit stood still, but that even though he could not discern the shape of the spirit, but that after a period of silence he heard a voice.  I believe God will always prepare us to hear when He speaks.  We simply need to be silent and hear Him.  Verse seventeen adds, Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?  This was the message that Eliphaz had received from God.  The question concerned man in relationship to God, asking if man, the created being, could be more just than the Creator, God.  I believe that Eliphaz may have been applying this to Job's questioning why all this was happening to him.  Verse eighteen continues, Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:  Eliphaz said that God could not even put His faith in the angels, many of whom rebelled.  If the angels failed, how much more likely is it that man could not stand in his own righteousness.  Verse nineteen asks, How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?  We need to realize that the life that we live here is mortal, and that we need to acknowledge that only through following God's will does life even have meaning.  Verse twenty adds, They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.  Mortal man shall die, and many, many do daily.  If a person does not acknowledge God's deliverance through Christ, even though in Eliphaz's time that was a coming event, then that person will perish forever separated from God.  No one can stand before God, saved by their own goodness.  Verse twenty-one continues, Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.  When we die, what we have done on earth is no longer important, except those things done for God.  If we do not acknowledge that God is the only One Who can restore a right relationship with Him, then we truly die without the only wisdom that really matters.  Eliphaz was applying this vision to Job, and I believe asking why Job would feel qualified to question God.  I believe that he was also saying that this vision indicated that Job had done something wrong.  Even if God gives us a vision, we must not attempt to use it to judge others.  The vision may have applied to Eliphaz and his relationship to God more than to Job and his relationship to God.  We must not be quick to judge other people by our understanding, but if we judge, it must be with a clear understanding that we are not judging by our own merit.  We are not called to be a judge, but a witness.

Job 4:1 says, Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,  After a week of silence, and then listening to Job's speech, one of his friends finally spoke.  When we are suffering and crying out for reason in life, we can only hope that our friends will offer us comfort.  This was not the case with Job's friends though. Verse two adds, If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?  Eliphaz asked Job if he would be offended if they spoke, but then seemed to say that he had to speak whatever Job said.  I believe that by asking if Job would be grieved by his speaking to him, Eliphaz was letting Job know that what he was going to say might not comfort him.  If Eliphaz was going to speak words of comfort, then there would be there would be no reason for Job to be grieved.  If we see someone suffering today, especially a fellow Christian, if we cannot offer words of comfort, it is better to just remain quiet.  Verse three continues, Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.  Eliphaz begins by talking about the good things Job had done.  Job had not only taught others, but he had helped the weak, those in need.  In his present condition, Job may have needed to hear this, especially when he was regretting even being born. When those around us are suffering so much that they question life, then we may need to remind them of the good they have done life.  Verse four states, Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.  Eliphaz continues to talk about the good things Job has done.  So far, it seems that he is simply trying to encourage Job.   Verse five Eliphaz adds, But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.  Eliphaz had been encouraging Job until he got to the but, and then his tone changed.  Hopefully, if we are attempting to help those around us who are suffering for no apparent reason, we will not try to place the blame for the suffering on their actions.  Eliphaz told Job that even though Job had helped others in their time of suffering, that when Job began to suffer, he fainted and was troubled.  We may not know the full burden that a person is bearing when they seem to be about ready to give up on everything, but we do not need to tell them that it is a lack of faith that got them into that position.  Verse six continues, Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?  I believe that Eliphaz was asking Job if he didn't know that his lack of faith and honesty in living his life had led him this point.  Verse seven says, Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?  Eliphaz was saying that the innocent didn't suffer nor were the righteous cut off.  We today may question what a Christian has done wrong if they are suffering, but we must remember that Job had only done what was right in the view of God.  We cannot allow material success or failure to be the way we determine a person's faith in God.  Verse eight adds, Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.  Eliphaz was basically saying that Job through some act that he had done had brought this suffering upon himself.  This is the concept of a prosperity gospel, which teaches that if we follow God, He will reward us materially.  This is not what Jesus taught.  Verse nine continues, By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.  Eliphaz was basically saying that if a person was suffering it was because God was punishing them for some sin.  We need to remember that until Christ returns that Satan has been given power in the world to attempt to turn people away from God, and that evil is caused by him and not by God.

Job 3:11 says, Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?  Job continues to question why he was allowed to be born if he was going to suffer so greatly.  He had evidently forgotten all the good things that had happened in his life and now was focused only on the bad.  Even if we find ourselves in deep suffering, we need to remember that life itself is a gift from God, and if we are His through faith in Christ, then God will be with us no matter what is happening in life.  Verse twelve adds, Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? Job continues to wish he hadn't been born, or at least that he should have died shortly after his birth.  Though we might miss all the suffering in the world if we died shortly after we were born, we would also miss the joy that comes in life.  Not only that, but we would also miss the opportunity to witness for Christ.  Though in Job's time Christ had not yet come, this was still an opportunity to witness to his faith in God.  We need to realize that if trouble comes into our lives that we still need to stand firm in our faith and be a positive witness for God.  Verse thirteen continues, For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,  Job said that there would have been rest, with none of his present suffering, if he had died soon after birth.  Verse fourteen declares, With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;  Job said that in death he would be equal to the rulers of the world who had died.  Verse fifteen adds, Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:  I believe that Job was saying that in death, all are equal.  No matter how many riches or how much power people might have in life, in death even the poorest is equal to the richest.  We can also say that no matter how rich a person might be, they cannot buy off death.  Verse sixteen continues, Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.  Job continued to wish his life had never existed, here wishing he had died before he was born.  We can never afford to question the wisdom of God in giving us life if we truly put our faith in Him, no matter what happens in life.  Verse seventeen states, There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.  Job states that death releases us from the pains of this life.  He continues to state this in the next two verses.  Verse eighteen adds, There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.  Verse nineteen continues, The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.  I believe that Job was saying that all are equal when they physically die as far as the suffering, or even joy, of this world is concerned.  We know that life does not cease at death though, but that the spirit lives on.  It is our relationship to God that determines whether the suffering ceases forever or not.  Verse twenty says, Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;  Job was asking where those who were in misery, who had become bitter in their soul, could find light, or hope.  We should know that the answer is in our faith in God.  Verse twenty-one adds, Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;  Job was suffering physically more than most of us ever will, and he said that even if he longed for death, it would not come.  Verse twenty-two continues, Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?  Job said he would rejoice in death since it would free him from suffering, but even when wishing for death he never said he would end his own life. We may at times question why we are still living, especially if our world has collapsed around us, but we need to look to God in faith during these times.  He gives and sustains life, so we must never attempt to replace God by ending our own life.  Verse twenty-three states, Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?  Job saw no way of hope in his condition.  Though Job didn't curse God, he continued to question God's purpose.  Verse twenty-four adds, For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.  Job found no pleasure in even eating to sustain his life, and he just wanted to roar, or scream in pain.  We may sometimes, even if we aren't suffering to badly, lose our joy in life, but as God's children, we must never lose sight of His protection of us.  If we look to God, we will never be cut off from the Light.  Verse twenty-five continues, For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.  I believe that Job was saying that he was always fearful that life could go from being blessed and respected to his current state.  We should not live doubting our future, but always realize that no matter what, God has secured us to Him through our faith in Christ.  For Job, that would have been faith in the coming Messiah.  Verse twenty-six concludes, I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.  I believe Job was saying he had done nothing to deserve his current state of life.  We know from the beginning of the book though that it was Job's faith in God and God's faith in Job that brought Job to this point.  When we put our faith in God, that does not mean that we are exempt from suffering in this life.

Job 3:1 says, After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.  Though Job did not curse God as Satan said he would, Job did curse his very existence.  Job had reminded his wife that we should remain faithful to God, no matter our circumstances, but now he was in effect questioning God's wisdom in even creating Job.  I believe if we reach the point where we believe that life has no purpose and it would be better if we had never even been born, we are overlooking the eternal nature of our spirit.  No matter what happens here, we are assured of an everlasting relationship with God if we are truly His through faith in Christ.  Verse two adds, And Job spake, and said,  Job broke the silence between his friends and himself.  Verse three continues, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.  Job began to regret his very existence.  I am not sure how bad things would have to get to bring us to this thought about life, but I do believe that if we reach such a conclusion that we have placed ourselves in the place of God.  God created us all for a purpose and life is never a mistake.   Verse four states, Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.  Job said that he not only wished that he had never been born, but he wished God had never even thought to create him, saying he wished that day had just been darkness.  Verse five adds, Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.  Job regretted his birth so much that he felt the day of his birth should have been a day of death.  In this statement also we can say that Job felt that he knew more than God did.  Verse six continues, As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.  I believe that Job was once again saying that he wished the day of his birth had never happened.  He wished that day and night had been pure darkness and had never appeared on the calendar.  Verse seven says, Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.  He again was just wishing not only that he had never been born, but that the whole day of his birth could be eliminated.  Yet, his birth was not the only thing that occurred that day, and I believe that we can say at this point Job had become self-centered.  When things are going badly in our lives, hopefully we will never see our lives as only affecting us.  There are still many other people who have their own lives to live.  Verse eight adds, Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.  Job may not have cursed God and died, as his wife suggested he do, but he was asking that the day of his birth be cursed.  Verse nine continues, Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:  I believe that Job was just continuing to wish the day of his birth had never existed.  Verse ten concludes, Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.  Job said that since his mother had conceived and given birth to him that it would be better if that day did not exist, since he was now in such sorrow.  Job's sin was in questioning God, which he was certainly doing by saying that his birth was a mistake.  We must never allow ourselves to question God, even when the world around us seems to be coming apart.  Even if we are suffering, God is still with us, as He was with Job.

Job 2:8 says, And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.  Job was covered with sores from head to toe, and he sought relief from scraping himself with a piece of pottery and sitting among the ashes.  We would probably be told not to scratch the sores and to keep them clean, but Job was simply doing what might bring some relief from his suffering.  Job had lost all his children and material wealth because God had faith in Him.  He still had his wife and friends though, as we see in the next few verses.  Verse nine adds, Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.  At the time when Job needed her love and support the most, Job's wife turned against him.  I believe that when she asked if Job still had his integrity that her answer was that he didn't.  When really bad things start happening to those who claim to be followers of God, it is not unusual for others to question their faith, but we always hope that it won't be those closest to us.  Job's wife should have known the truth of his integrity to God, but instead she advised him to curse God and die.  She told Job to renounce his faith and end his life, thereby ending his suffering.  We can only hope that if we find ourselves under attack from Satan that if we are married our spouse will stand with us and not turn away, as Job's wife evidently did.  She had lost as much as Job did, except her health, and I believe she saw Job as the source of her losses as well.  Verse ten continues, But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.  Job asked his wife if they should serve God only when He blessed them and turn away from God when suffering came.  Job said she spoke as foolish women spoke.  I don't believe that he was saying that his wife and all women were foolish, but instead was speaking of women who did not have a faith relationship with God.  She should have had that type of faith and have known that Job had not brought destruction to them because of a lack of integrity in his relationship with God.  Verse eleven states, Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.  When these three friends of Job heard what was happening to him, they decided to come together and mourn with him and comfort him.  This seems to be a very commendable action on their part, because Job certainly needed someone to offer him comfort.  Verse twelve adds, And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.  They were sincere in their grief for Job, and unlike many who are friends when someone is rich but desert them if they lose everything, these three remained friends of Job.  Verse thirteen continues, So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.  Sometimes, when a person is suffering a very deep grief, we may not know what to say to them, but our presence with them may be a great comfort.  For a week they simply sat and mourned with Job.

Job 2:1 says, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.  Once again, we might wonder why Satan was allowed to be in the midst of those present with God, but we must remember that until the final judgment that he is allowed to roam freely.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.  This is a repeating of the question asked in chapter one and was not asked because God did not know where Satan had been and what he had been doing.  It was an opportunity for the great Deceiver to tell the truth.  Still, Satan only told a partial truth.  He did not say he had been attempting to destroy people's faith in God. Verse three continues, And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. God repeated His commending of Job, but with the added statement that Job remained faithful even though Satan had destroyed everything Job had. We can only hope that we will have the same type faith when adversity comes into our lives.  Verse four states, And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.  Satan was not silenced by Job's faith, nor did he admit that he was wrong about Job.  We must realize that Satan will never give up on trying to defeat or discredit Christians.  We know that if we truly accept Christ as Savior and Lord that God seals us as His forever, so the best that Satan can hope for is to cause our faith to waver.  Verse five adds, But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.  Satan told God that even though Job had lost everything else, he still had his health.  Satan told God if God took away Job's health that Job would curse God.  Verse six continues, And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.  God did not say that He would do what Satan told Him to do, but instead said He would allow Satan to take away Job's health, but not his life.  I believe we can take comfort in the fact that Satan can never take away our everlasting life.  Even if we lose everything else, we are God's forever if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse seven concludes, So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.  Satan was again in a hurry to prove that Job would turn away from God if he lost his health.  Sometimes physical pain can cause us to do or say things that we wouldn't normally do, but we can never let it cause us to question God.  God is with us through the pain.  We will see that Job remained true to his faith in God.

Job 1:11 says, But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. Satan said that if God took away all that Job had that not only would Job no longer worship God, but that he would curse God.  We may want God to commend our faith, but the question remains whether or not we will remain faithful if it seems that everything has been taken from us.  Satan said that Job only served God for material blessings.  Verse twelve adds, And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.  God himself did not take away the things that Job had, but He did give Satan the ability to do so.  We hear people ask today why bad things happen to good people, and the answer is that Satan is still free to go to and fro on the earth to attempt to get people to turn away from God.  Verse thirteen continues, And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:  Life was going on pretty much as normal for Job.  Job's children were together eating and drinking, or enjoying the riches of life we might say.  Verse fourteen states, And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: This was but the first of the messengers to come to Job.  Verse fifteen adds, And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  The message started like a pretty normal day, but then we hear the message change. Job's possessions had been taken away and his servants killed except for the one who brought the message.  Satan wasted no time in putting his plan into effect.  We can certain that Satan will waste no time today attacking those who serve God.  Verse sixteen continues, While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  Another messenger came with more bad news.  All of Job's sheep and servants had been destroyed by fire from heaven.  We know God did not send this fire.  Still, we might have tended to accuse God, especially if we believe God causes all things instead of believing that He allows all things.  Verse seventeen says, While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  The bad news just kept coming for Job.  Sometimes, when we either see so many bad things happening in our life or the life of another, we may wonder how much more we or they can endure, but if we are followers of God, He will give us the strength to endure.  Verse eighteen continues, While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:  Verse nineteen concludes, And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  So far, Job had only lost possessions that could be replaced, but he now lost his children, who could not be.  Having more children could never replace these sons and daughters.  Verse twenty states, Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,  Satan had said Job only worshipped God because God was materially blessing him, but Job proved him wrong.  The question is would we.  Verse twenty-one adds, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.  I believe this is the truth of life that we must always realize.  Everything that we have, even life itself, is a gift from God, and we should always give Him the praise, no matter what is happening in life.  Verse twenty-two continues, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.  God had commended Job's faith, and Job did not fail to stand in his faith.  He never foolishly blamed God, and neither should we when bad things happen in our lives.  We should always be able to sincerely say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job 1:1 says, There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.  We are told that Job was perfect and upright.  He feared, or I believe more accurately stood in awe of God and hated evil.  We also know that there was only One Who lived a life of perfection, and that was Jesus Christ.  I believe that when we are told that he was perfect that it means that he always attempted to live under the leadership of God.  Verse two adds, And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.  Job was blessed with a large family.  I believe that Job saw his family as a blessing from God, and we today should feel the same. We must acknowledge that only God can give life.  We may hear of life being created in a test tube, but even then life has to come from what God has created and must be sustained by His power.  If we have been blessed with children, whether one or many, we must give thanks to God for blessing us with them. Verse three continues, His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.  We see that Job put his relationship with God first, his family second, and his possessions third.  This is a good order for us to follow today.  We cannot allow family to come before God or possessions to come before either God or family. Job was a rich man, and he still served God.  Though we are told that it is hard for a rich man to be saved, it is not impossible.  As long as a person acknowledges that everything comes from God and is to be used for His glory, then riches will not get in the way of serving God.  Verse four states, And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.  Matthew Henry says this verse means that Job's children were prosperous, and this brought a feeling of joy to his heart.  I believe we can also say that his children were maybe more interested in feasting, or enjoying the riches of life, than they were in serving others for God's glory.  Verse five adds, And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.  I believe this verse confirms what I said about verse four.  Job offered sacrifices for his children daily, because he feared that they might have sinned against God.  We know that we cannot bring salvation to our children on our own, but we can certainly pray and sacrifice for them daily that they might be protected until they come to salvation on their own.  Verse six continues, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.  I am not sure about the assembly mentioned here, but it is clear that Satan had not been permanently banished.  We know that whenever we assemble together that Satan is going to do his best to disrupt our worship.  Verse seven says, And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.  I believe that God knew exactly where Satan had been and what he had been doing. Satan's power is limited whereas God's is unlimited. Verse eight adds, And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?  This was a great endorsement of Job by God.  If there were such a meeting today, would God call one of us by name and hold us up as an example of faithfulness to Him?  We need to be that type of Christian, upright in our relationship to God and others and never giving in to evil.  Verse nine continues, Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?  Satan, the great deceiver, will always attempt to discredit those who serve God.  If he cannot do it based on our actions, he will attempt to do it based on our motives.  When Christians do good works today, there are always those who claim that we are really doing them for our own benefit somehow.  Verse ten concludes, Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.  Satan's basic question was whether Job served God simply because God had blessed Job materially.  Again, we need to realize that Satan will do anything to discredit those who put their faith in God.