Three Great Truths We Must Always Affirm – Job 25:1-28:28
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite said, (2) Dominion and awe belong to God, he establishes peace in his heights. (3) Can his troops be numbered? Upon whom does his light not rise? (4) How then can a man be righteous before God? How can someone born of a woman be pure? (5) If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, (6) how much less is man, who is a maggot, or the son of man, who is a worm?
26 Job replied, (2) How have you helped the powerless! How have you saved the feeble arm! (3) What counsel you have given to one who is without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided! (4) Who has helped you utter these words? Whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
(5) The departed spirits tremble beneath the waters along with those who dwell in those waters. (6) Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering. (7) He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. (8) He binds the waters in thick clouds, yet the cloud masses do not burst under their weight. (9) He conceals the sight of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. (10) He marks out the horizon on the surface of the waters as a boundary between light and darkness. (11) The pillars of the heavens quake, being astonished at his rebuke. (12) By his power he calmed the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces. (13) By his breath the skies become clear; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. (14) And these are only the outer fringe of his works; how faint is the whisper we hear of him! Who then can comprehend the thunder of his power?
27 Then Job continued his discourse by saying, (2) As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, (3) as long as I have life in me and the breath of God is in my nostrils, (4) my lips will never bear false testimony, nor will my tongue utter deceit. (5) Far be it from me to declare that you are right; until I die, I will not renounce my integrity. (6) I firmly hold on to my righteousness and will not let it go; my conscience shall not reproach me as long as I live—(7) May my enemy be like the wicked; may my adversary be like the unjust!—(8) for what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? (9) Will God listen to his cry when distress comes upon him? (10) Will he then take delight in the Almighty? Will he then call upon God at all times?
(11) I will teach you about God’s power; I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty. (12) Indeed, all of you have seen it; why, then, do you utter such worthless speech? (13) This is the fate God allots to the wicked, this is the tyrant’s “inheritance” from the Almighty: (14) Although he may have many children, they are all destined for the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat. (15) The plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not be able to weep for them. (16) He may heap up silver like piles of dust and clothes like piles of clay, (17) but whatever he accumulates, the righteous will wear; and the innocent will divide his silver. (18) The house he has built is like a spider’s web, like a shack made for a watchman. (19) He goes to bed wealthy, but for the last time; when he opens his eyes, he is gone. (20) Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night. (21) The east wind carries him off, and he is gone; it sweeps him from his place. (22) It hurls itself against him without mercy as he tries to flee from its power. (23) Men will clap their hands at him in derision and chase him from his community with hissing.
28 There is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. (2) Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. (3) Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the thickest darkness. (4) Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man; far from men he dangles and sways from his rope. (5) The earth, out of which comes precious stones, is broken up below with fire; (6) sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains gold. (7) No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it. (8) Proud beasts have not set foot there, and no lion prowls there. (9) Man’s hand assaults the flinty rock; he overturns the mountains by their roots. (10) He hews out tunnels through the rock; his eyes behold all the earth’s treasures. (11) He traces the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light. (12) But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? (13) Man does not know its residence, and it is not found in the land of the living.
(14) The deep says, “It is not in me.” The sea says, “It is not with me.” (15) It cannot be purchased with the finest gold, nor can its value be weighed in silver. (16) It cannot be bought with even the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. (17) Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be obtained in exchange for jewels of gold. (18) Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. (19) The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it; it cannot be bought with even pure gold. (20) From where does wisdom come? Where is the dwelling place of understanding? (21) It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, even concealed from the birds of the sky. (22) Abaddon and Death say, “Only a rumor about it has reached our ears.” (23) God understands the way to it; he knows where it dwells, (24) for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. (25) When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, (26) when he set a limit for the rain and a course for the thunderbolt, (27) at that time he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he prepared it and examined it. (28) And he said to man, “Listen. The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and turning away from evil is understanding.”
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
