- 00:00
- Not that long, but certainly as I said in the beginning last week, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 is really in one sense the heart of Job's defense against his three so-called friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophaz as they have each of them now have taken a turn at Job.
- 00:26
- And as we've been discussing and considering in each of their speeches or in each of their words to Job they've made accusations against Job and that their accusations in their mind is absolutely spot-on, but the reality is they're really pretty far off and we've been considering that.
- 00:48
- And so again in these three chapters now before us Job pretty much has had it.
- 00:53
- He's had enough of their ridicule, enough of their accusations, enough of their their words against him, and basically they have said, Job you deserve what you're getting and you ought to be thankful that you don't get more because there must be some secret sin in your life and God is judging you for it and if you would only repent things would get better.
- 01:16
- And that's one of the major themes right in the book is that the misunderstanding or the misapprehension of the affairs of life and that it's easy it's easy for many people to look at the things that are seen and try to make judgments from those things that are seen rather than from the Word of God or from the reality of that things don't always turn out as they should in this life and ultimately the only time when things will be right is when? When we're with the Lord, right? When God comes in that day every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess, and so Job's kind of been fighting this back and forth, but in these three chapters as I said you'll see Job begins to give back to them what they've been given to him.
- 02:15
- So let's just read the chapter.
- 02:18
- Then Job answered and said, no doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you, but I have understanding as well as you.
- 02:26
- I'm not infuriating you.
- 02:29
- Indeed who does not know such things as these? And he's referring to what has been said by Zophar but also what the other two friends have said.
- 02:38
- Verse 4.
- 02:39
- I am one mocked by his friends who called on God and he answered him the just and the blameless who is left to scorn.
- 02:48
- A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease.
- 02:51
- It is made ready for those whose feet slip.
- 02:55
- The tent of robbers prosper and those who provoke God are secure in what God provides by his hand.
- 03:02
- But now ask the beasts and they will teach you and the birds of the air and they will tell you or speak to the earth and it will teach you and the fish of the sea will explain to you who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this.
- 03:17
- In whose hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
- 03:22
- Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food? Wisdom is with aged men and with length of days understanding.
- 03:32
- And now he goes into this if you will praise of God for who he is and what he does.
- 03:40
- So he says in verse 13 With him being God, with him are wisdom and strength.
- 03:46
- He has counsel and understanding.
- 03:49
- If he breaks a thing down it can't be rebuilt.
- 03:52
- If he imprisons a man there could be no release.
- 03:56
- If he withholds the waters they dry up.
- 03:59
- If he sends them out they overwhelm the earth.
- 04:02
- With him are strength and prudence.
- 04:05
- The deceived and the deceiver are his.
- 04:09
- He leads counselors away, plundered.
- 04:11
- Makes fools of the judges.
- 04:13
- He loosens the bonds of kings and binds their waist with a belt.
- 04:18
- He leads princes away, plundered.
- 04:20
- He overthrows the mighty.
- 04:22
- He deprives the trusted ones of speech and takes away the sermon of the elders.
- 04:27
- He pours contempt on princes and disarms the mighty.
- 04:31
- He uncovers deep things of darkness and brings the shadow of death to light.
- 04:36
- He makes nations great and destroys them.
- 04:40
- He enlarges nations and guides them.
- 04:42
- He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
- 04:50
- They grope in the dark without light and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
- 04:56
- So as we began to look at it last week we kind of worked through the first couple of verses and so I don't want to go back too far but I want to just kind of pick it up in basically in verse 10 and work through it because as I said again there's a bunch of things that Job addresses in this chapter.
