Looking for Job

[JLG]

204) Looking for Job

Job 27


This is the wicked man’s share from God,

The inheritance that tyrants receive from the Almighty.

If his sons become many, they will fall by the sword,

And his descendants will not have enough food.

Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,

And their widows will not weep for them.

Even if he piles up silver like the dust

And stores up fine clothing like the clay,

Though he may gather it,

The righteous man will wear it,

And the innocent will divide up his silver.

The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon,

Like a shelter made by a watchman.

He will go to bed rich but will gather nothing;

When he opens his eyes, nothing will be there.

Terror overtakes him like a flood;

A storm snatches him away by night.

An east wind will carry him off, and he will be gone;

It sweeps him away from his place.

It will hurl itself at him without pity

As he desperately tries to flee from its force.

It claps its hands at him

And whistles at him from its place.

- According to Job, the wicked man has nothing to do with God !


- And he will pay for his bad actions !


- But he has already said that the wicked man flourishes !


- We know this world is full of injustice !


- And it will only change when God puts an end to this old world !


- For men it is hard to wait !


- Because time doesn’t mean the same for God or for man because we only live a short time !


- And we have not been created for such a short time !


- Of course, God limited again and again the time we live because the more we live the more we bring trouble !


- And it is particularly true with tyrants and political leaders and religious leaders and business leaders!


- They just want to take advantage of people!

 

[JLG]

205) Looking for Job

Job 28


“There is a place to mine silver

And a place for gold that they refine;

Iron is taken from the ground,

And copper is smelted from rocks.

Man conquers the darkness;

He probes to the limit in the gloom and darkness,

Searching for ore.

He sinks a shaft far from where people reside,

In forgotten places, far from where people walk;

Some men descend and swing suspended.

Food grows on top of the earth;

But below, there is an upheaval as if by fire.

There in the stones is sapphire,

And the dust contains gold.

No bird of prey knows the path to it;

The eye of a black kite has not seen it.

No majestic beasts have trodden on it

The young lion has not prowled there.

Man strikes the flinty rock with his hand;

He overturns the mountains at their foundation.

He cuts water channels in the rock;

His eyes spot every precious thing.

He dams up the sources of rivers

And brings what was hidden to the light.


- Man does everything he can to get precious material from below the earth!


- There is no limit!


- In fact, man is only interested in getting material wealth!


- Money! Money! Money!


- How many people died digging the soil to extract material wealth!


- Many!


- Man is greedy!


- He pollutes the earth for material wealth!


- Only God will stop them when he puts an end to this old world!

 

[JLG]

206) Looking for Job

Job 28


But wisdom—where can it be found,

And where is the source of understanding?

No man recognizes its value,

And it cannot be found in the land of the living.

The deep waters say, ‘It is not in me!’

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me!’

It cannot be bought with pure gold;

Nor can silver be weighed out in exchange for it.

It cannot be bought with gold of Ophir

Nor with rare onyx and sapphire.

Gold and glass cannot be compared to it;

Nor can a vessel of fine gold be exchanged for it.

Coral and crystal are not worthy of mention,

For a bagful of wisdom is worth more than one full of pearls.

The topaz of Cush cannot be compared to it;

It cannot be purchased even with pure gold.


- Wisdom is another story!


- Man doesn’t care about wisdom!


- Man cares about material wealth!


- Too different!


- That’s why we are where we are!


- Man only knows what is superficial!


- The problem is man can’t buy wisdom!


- And the problem is that it’s worth much more than material wealth!

 

[JLG]

207) Looking for Job

Job 28


But from where does wisdom come,

And where is the source of understanding?

It has been hidden from the eyes of every living thing

And concealed from the birds of the heavens.

Destruction and death say,

‘Our ears have heard only a report of it.’

God understands the way to find it;

He alone knows where it resides,

For he looks to the ends of the earth,

And he sees everything under the heavens.

When he set the force of the wind

And measured out the waters,

When he made a regulation for the rain

And a path for the thunderous storm cloud,

Then he saw wisdom and explained it;

He established and tested it.

And he said to man:

‘Look! The fear of God—that is wisdom,

And to turn away from bad is understanding.’”


- The problem for man is that he knows partially!


- And it won’t change!


- And he doesn’t learn from the past!


- He always makes the same errors!


- And he can’t control his feelings!


- And he will always be a child!


- He doesn’t want to become an adult!

 

[JLG]

208) Looking for Job

Job 29


Job continued his discourse, saying:

“If only I were in the months gone by,

In the days when God was watching over me,

When he caused his lamp to shine upon my head,

When I walked through darkness by his light,

When I was in my prime,

When God’s friendship was felt in my tent,

When the Almighty was still with me,

When my children were all around me,

When my steps were awash in butter,

And the rocks poured out streams of oil for me.


- Job thinks about the past!


- When he had a special relationship with God!


- When his children were alive!


- When he could live decently!


- And it is the worst!


- Because now he has nothing!


- And he has no hope!


- He can only defend himself!


- And tell about his pain and suffering!

 

[JLG]

209) Looking for Job

Job 29


When I used to go out to the city gate

And take my seat in the public square,

The young men would see me and step aside,

And even the old men would rise and remain standing.

Princes refrained from speaking;

They would put their hand over their mouth.

The voices of the prominent men were silenced;

Their tongue was stuck to the roof of their mouth.


- Job speaks about the past !


- When he was respected by everybody !


- Young and old used to respect him !


- Everybody would let him speak !


- What a difference !

- Today it is as if he is dead !


- As if he was nobody !


- Everybody has forgotten what he did !

 

[JLG]

210) Looking for Job

Job 29


Whoever heard me would speak well of me,

And those who saw me would testify for me.

For I would rescue the poor who cried for help,

Along with the fatherless child and anyone who had no helper.

The one about to perish would bless me,

And I made the heart of the widow rejoice.

I put on righteousness as my clothing;

My justice was like a robe and a turban.

I became eyes to the blind

And feet to the lame.

I was a father to the poor;

I would investigate the legal case of those I did not know.

I would break the jaws of the wrongdoer

And tear the prey away from his teeth.


- Job was respected because he would help people !


- The poor, the fatherless, anyone without helper !


- The one about to perish, the widow !


- He acted with justice for everybody !


- Thus we understand better when God speaks about him as unique !


- There was no one like him on earth !

 

[JLG]

211) Looking for Job

Job 29


I used to say, ‘I will die in my own home,

And my days will be as numerous as the grains of sand.

My roots will spread out into the waters,

And dew will stay all night on my branches.

My glory is constantly renewed,

And the bow in my hand will keep shooting.’

People would listen expectantly,

Waiting in silence for my advice.

After I had spoken, they had nothing more to say;

My words would fall gently on their ears.

They waited for me as for the rain;

They opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;

The light of my face would reassure them.

I gave them direction as their head,

And I lived like a king among his troops,

Like one who comforts the mourners.


- Job had a normal life !


- He couldn’t imagine it would change so fast !


- That he would lose everything !


- And hope in life !


- Everybody would listen to him and keep silent !


- He was highly appreciated !

 

[JLG]

212) Looking for Job

Job 30


“Now they laugh at me

—Men younger than I am,

Whose fathers I would have refused

To put with the dogs that guarded my flock.

Of what use was the power of their hands to me?

Their vigor has perished.

They are worn out from want and hunger;

They gnaw at the parched ground

That was already ruined and desolated.

They gather the salt herb from the bushes;

Their food is the root of broom trees.

They are driven out of the community;

People shout at them as they would at a thief.

They live on the slopes of ravines,

In holes in the ground and in the rocks.

From the bushes they cry out

And huddle together among the nettles.

As sons of the senseless and the nameless ones,

They have been driven out of the land.

But now they mock me even in their songs;

I have become an object of scorn to them.

They detest me and keep their distance from me;

They do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Because God has disarmed me and humbled me,

They throw off all restraint in my presence.

On my right they rise up like a mob;

They put me to flight

And put up barriers of destruction in my path.

They tear up my roadways

And make my calamity worse,

Without anyone to stop them.

They come as if through a wide breach in the wall;


They roll in amid the devastation.


- He speaks about people who laugh at him!


- They are not in a better position!


- They spit in his face!


- They do everything they can to make his life worse!


- It is as if he had done no good!


- And he can’t defend himself and nobody will help him!

 

[JLG]

213) Looking for Job

Job 30


Terror overwhelms me;

My dignity is driven away like the wind,

And my salvation vanishes like a cloud.

Now my life ebbs from me;

Days of affliction take hold of me.

Aching pierces my bones at night;

The gnawing pain never stops.

With great force my garment is disfigured;

Like the collar of my garment, it chokes me.


- Terror


- No more dignity!


- No salvation!


- Affliction!


- Aching!


- Gnawing pain!


- Who would like to be in Job’s situation?

- And that’s where he is!


- Thanks to the devil!


- Do you think that the religious leaders are better?

 

[JLG]

214) Looking for Job

Job 30


God has thrown me down into the mud;

I am reduced to dust and ashes.

I cry to you for help, but you do not answer me;

I stand up, but you just look at me.

You have cruelly turned against me;

With the full might of your hand, you assault me.

You pick me up and carry me off with the wind;

Then you toss me about in the storm.

For I know that you will bring me down to death,

To the house where everyone living will meet.

But no one would strike at a broken man

As he cries for help during his time of disaster.




- Yes, he is in trouble!


- But because of the devil!


- And he cries for help from God!


- And he doesn’t answer him!


- Because of the devil!


- And that’s the worst for Job!


- Because he thinks God has left him!


- Like everybody!


- And the devil is having fun!


- But it is painful for God!


- But he has to wait!

 

[JLG]

215) Looking for Job

Job 30


Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?

Have I not grieved for the poor?

Although I hoped for good, bad came;

I expected the light, but darkness came.

The churning inside me did not stop;

Days of affliction confronted me.

I walk about gloomy; there is no sunlight.

In the assembly, I rise and cry for help.

I have become a brother to jackals

And a companion to the daughters of the ostrich.

My skin has blackened and fallen off;

My bones burn from the heat.

My harp is used only for mourning,

And my flute for the sound of weeping.


- In Job’s words there is only despair!


- He has no hope!


- He is waiting for nothing except pain and suffering!


- The only thing left to him is complaining!


- And crying for help!


- And the individuals are apparently deaf!


- They could do something instead of barking!


- They could wash him!


- They could put something on his wounds!


- They could give him something to keep him warm!


- They could bring him food!


- They could show they are here to help him!


- But no they do nothing, just barking!


- Do you remember the good Samaritan?


- What did he do?


- And what did the others do?

 

[JLG]

216) Looking for Job

Job 31


“I have made a covenant with my eyes.

So how could I show improper attention to a virgin?

What, then, would be my share from God above,

What inheritance from the Almighty on high?

Does not disaster await the wrongdoer

And calamity those doing what is harmful?

Does he not see my ways

And count all my steps?

Have I ever walked in untruth?

Has my foot hurried to deceive?

Let God weigh me with accurate scales

Then he will recognize my integrity.


- Job doesn’t understand what’s on!


- He doesn’t understand what he did wrong!


- For him, acting wrong is nonsense!


- But he knows that god knows him!


- He knows that God knows his integrity!


- And he will recognize it!


- There is no other way!

 

[JLG]

217) Looking for Job

Job 31


If my footsteps deviate from the way

Or my heart has followed after my eyes

Or my hands have been defiled,

Then let me sow seed and someone else eat,

And let what I plant be uprooted.

If my heart has been enticed by a woman

And I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

Then let my wife grind grain for another man,

And let other men have sexual relations with her.

For that would be shameful conduct,

An error deserving punishment by the judges.

It would be a fire that would devour and destroy,

Consuming even the roots of all my produce.


- Then Job makes a list of all his actions!


- He wants to know what he has done wrong!


- Then he will accept the punishment!


- He is a man of justice!


- He is an upright man as God says!


- So if God says it, it means a lot about Job!


- That’s why we should be careful when we speak about Job!

 

[JLG]

218) Looking for Job

Job 31


If I denied justice to my male or female servants

When they had a complaint against me,

What can I do when God confronts me?

What can I answer him when he calls for an accounting?

Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them?

Was it not the same One who formed us before our birth?


- Justice to his servants!


If I refused to give the poor what they desired


- the poor!


Or saddened the eyes of the widow;


- The widow!


If I ate my portion of food alone

Without sharing it with the orphans;

(For from my youth the orphan grew up with me as though I were his father,


- The orphan!


And I have been a guide for the widow from childhood.


- The widow!


If I saw anyone perishing for lack of clothing

Or a poor man with nothing to cover himself

If he did not bless me


- The poor man!


As he warmed himself with the wool of my sheep;

If I shook my fist against the orphan

When he needed my assistance in the city gate;

- Job asks for justice!


- If he can do that, it’s because he is used to dispensing justice!


- It is probably difficult to remember each action of justice!


- But his heart and mind are filled with justice!


- Even when he is in trouble, he keeps feeling it!


- That’s his way!


- His strength!


- That’s also why he has such a powerful relationship with God!

 

[JLG]

219) Looking for Job

Job 31


Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,

And let my arm be broken at the elbow.

For I dreaded disaster from God,

And I could not stand before his dignity.


- If he is guilty of anything, he accepts the consequences!


- But he knows what he did!


- He follows only one way, God’s way and God’s justice!


- He is surrounded by it!


- It shines on him!


- You just have to listen to him and drink his words and catch them and their fluidity!


- Job is free because he is so close to God!


- Freedom of heart and freedom of mind!

 

[JLG]

220) Looking for Job

Job 31


If I put my confidence in gold

Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my security!’

If I found my joy in my great wealth

Because of the many possessions I acquired;

If I saw the sun shining

Or the moon moving in its splendor;

And my heart was secretly enticed,

And my mouth kissed my hand in worship of them;

Then that would be an error deserving punishment by the judges,

For I would have denied the true God above.


- Job was a rich man but his priority was his faith in God !


- We remember what Jesus said about rich people, that is it is really difficult for them to get into God’s kingdom because of their wealth !


- But Job is not in this case !


- He did not let wealth contaminate his heart and mind !


- On the contrary, he would use it to help people !


- And wealth didn’t prevent him from having a strong relationship with God !


- Look at rich people today and you will see and understand the difference !


- It is so evident, so clear !

 

[JLG]

221) Looking for Job

Job 31


Have I ever rejoiced over the destruction of my enemy

Or gloated because evil befell him?

I never allowed my mouth to sin

By asking for his life in an oath.


- Heart and mind!


- Yes, for Job, heart and mind are connected!


- Yes, for him, what you think is as important as what you say!


- Usually people say one thing and think another!


- But Job is one, heart and mind are one!


- That’s what God is looking for!


- That’s why the connection he has with Job is so strong!


- That’s why the devil tried to destroy it!


- And that’s why he couldn’t do it!


- Yes, Job’s heart and mind are not two but one!


- Yes, indestructible!

 

[JLG]

222) Looking for Job

Job 31


Have the men of my tent not said,

‘Who can find anyone who has not been satisfied with his food?’

No stranger had to spend the night outside;

I opened my doors to the traveler.


- Hospitality!


Have I ever tried to cover over my transgressions, like other men,

By hiding my error in the pocket of my garment?

Have I been in fear of the reaction of the multitude,

Or have I been terrified by the contempt of other families,

Making me silent and afraid to go outside?


- Justice!


- Everywhere we get written speeches written by other people!


- It’s like singers who sing songs written by others!


- Words!


- But is the speech true?


- Personally I have never been able to listen to a speech!


- Everywhere you get people who speak on TV, on the radio, they speak and speak to fill the gaps!


- It’s like inflation!


- And it rains words and more words!


- But what do we do with empty words!


- A society of empty words with no more meaning!


- Everything is diluted!


- Is that what’s left?


- I believe in real life!


- And the Bible is real life with some individuals having a deep connection to God whereas the majority doesn’t!


- Yes, I believe in that!


- But I don’t believe in the wind!

 

[JLG]

223) Looking for Job

Job 31


If only someone would listen to me!

I would sign my name to what I have said.

Let the Almighty answer me!


- Job knows who he is and what he did and what he did not do!


- He knows the type of relationship he has with God and nobody will take it from him!


- Never!


- It is indestructible!


- Because it is built on rock!


If only my accuser had written out the charges in a document!

I would carry it on my shoulder,

And I would bind it around my head like a crown.

I would give him an accounting for every step I took;

I would approach him confidently, like a prince.


- He would never let anyone accuse him before God without defending himself!


- His relationship with God is too strong and unbreakable!


- He can’t live without it!