Job

1

v. 6  “authority”

            What must not be confused here is the distinction between the angles of God and Satan himself.  The angels were present as part of God’s work as they, too are required to carry out the will of God just as we are.  Examples can be found in I Kings 22:19, Zechariah 4:14 and Luke 1:19.  We cannot be certain where this happened, as it certainly could have not occurred in heaven from which Satan had been removed.  It is also possible that this was written in light of man’s understanding so that it could become understandable and is therefore a symbolic representation of God demonstrating His supreme control over man and angels to His own glory. 

Although Satan was cast out of heaven it is thought he still has access to heavenly realms.  I would not surmise where this actually took place, that is irrelevant and a sideline, the fact is that he roams the earth and is the god of this present world, but still under subjection to the Authority of God, whom he still seeks to usurp in order to take His place.  We do not know enough about the heavens (plural!) to figure out who can go and be where? 

2

v. 13 “silence is golden”

            While the Jewish tradition stated that a friend could not speak until the afflicted had spoken, it could well be argued that these three friends would have been better off not speaking at all.  Sometimes when we do have problems and difficulties we don’t want quick fixes from our friends or words or wisdom but simply someone to stay with us and show support.  If only these three had done the same.

This teaches is that when someone is going through stress do NOT give PAT ANSWERS!  The person already knows them.  This is not what they need to hear right now, they need a hug or a sympathizing tear, or just simply the comfort of companionship and knowing someone cares.  We do think we have to talk or say something - words really are unnecessary.

15

v. 10 “lesson”

            Age does not guarantee wisdom.           .

40+ 41

vs. 15-24 1-34  “the behemoth and the leviathan”

            The italics in my Bible suggest that the two creatures in this passage are either an elephant, crocodile or hippo.  Creationists are not in agreement with this, however, as it’s thought that the behemoth could well represent a Brachiosaurus.  The biggest problem here is that an elephant doesn’t exactly have a tail like a cedar that’s for sure.  The leviathan seems to be describing a fire breathing animal such as a dragon.  Now some may regard this skeptically but it’s worth remembering that the bombardier beetle can emit super heated gasses as a form of defense so why could this not happen with a dragon?  For more information and research supporting these two theories refer to http://www.answersingenesis.org

            While is may be indeed interesting to attempt to determine what these creatures are it is important to realize that God was teaching Job the might of His handiwork and how fearful man is of even the creatures of this world.  Throughout the whole book Job’s friends have asked him to repent of his sins and ask for forgiveness.  But Job did not repent of the sins that his friends thought he had committed but from the sin of self-righteousness?  God showed through His own creation His power and majesty and this left Job humbled and repentant.