Audio Links

Video Links

Job 2:7 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.
Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10 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 2:11 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.
Job 2:12 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.
Job 2:13 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.

Introduction

As it happens every day and at all times, Satan “goes forth from the presence of the Lord” and at this time he is granted by God to afflict Job himself. Satan and “all things” are being worked exactly as God wills, and Satan does exactly what he is sent to accomplish, and we all do exactly what we are sent to accomplish and to be what we are made to be, every day of mankind’s existence.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

We, as Job, have a time in our lives where we think we are acknowledging God’s sovereignty because we know He is sovereign over the evil that happens to us. Yet the scriptures reveal that while Job says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”, Job is still maintaining his own integrity, blithely unaware that the Lord has given him a self- righteous spirit which must be seen, must be acknowledged and must be exorcised before he or we can be found worthy to sit with Christ in His Father’s throne. Christ will not sit on His own throne within us until we get off that throne and give it to Him. When we do get off that throne, it will be after we have lived this experience of this book of Job.
Job really was a good man, who had done “many wonderful works” in his Lord’s name, but Job, as the Old Testament type of God’s elect, thinks of those good works as his own righteousness, before he is caused to understand that even that self- righteousness, which must be repented of, is the work of God within us all, to bring us to a complete and total repentance of what we are by nature.

Job 1:21 And [ Job] 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.
Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Amen! Amen! Until we die to ourselves, we are all maintaining our own integrity and our own righteousness’. Job knows that the things that have happened to him are all the work of God. What he does not know is that he is by nature, self- righteous. Christ’s worst, most hate- filled opponents are those who are self- righteous.

Mar 2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his [ Matthew the tax collector’s] house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
Mar 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the [ self] righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine [ who consider themselves to be] just persons, which need no repentance.

This is the state of those who God has chosen as they come to know the mind of God. The loss of all of his oxen and of all of those who cared for and worked those oxen, the loss of all of his asses, his sheep, his camels and all those who were of Job’s household who kept all these possessions, is now a reality. They have all been destroyed. Last but not least all seven of his sons and his three daughters are now dead. Job knows this all has to be the work of God. These things were all taken from him in one day, by God. Job has to know it was all of God because the sheep and the servants who kept them were all slain by “the fire of God from heaven”. The death of all of Job’s children in the home of their eldest brother on his birthday, was caused by “a wind from out of the wilderness”. When lightning and wind are involved, even Christ’s faithless disciples know that God is in charge of those things:

Mar 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
Mar 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
Mar 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Mar 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Mar 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Job 1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
Job 1:14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
Job 1:15 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.
Job 1:16 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.
Job 1:17 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.
Job 1:18 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:
Job 1:19 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.
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:21 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.

The natural man does not acknowledge the hand of God as sovereign in all things. We, as Job at this point in our walk, have grown past that point. We understand that God is sovereign, and yet Job sees himself as very righteous, oblivious to his own self- righteousness.

Job 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
Job 10:15 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;

It is obvious that the knowledge of God’s sovereignty does not equate to perfected understanding of the mind of God. We acknowledge God’s sovereignty, and yet we somehow think that we, of ourselves, are righteous. It is in this confused state that we and Job, are brought to the same place King David, Jeremiah, Habakkuk and all of us find ourselves. We all resort to questioning God why He has made us like this and why He is working things in the way He is.

Psa 22:1 To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Psa 42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Jer 12:1 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
Hab 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Because we are first blinded from understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of God, we fail to see that this very verse in Habakkuk affirms that God does indeed “look upon them that deal treacherously, and [ He] holds His tongue when the wicked devour the man that is more righteous than he”. This book of Job, more clearly than any other book in the Bible, deals with the fact that very bad things happen to God’s elect, while the wicked seem to prosper, and this book explains why that is so and how it is all brought about by God Himself.

Job 16:11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
Job 21:8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Job 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod [ wrath] of God upon them.
Job 21:10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
Job 21:11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
Job 21:12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
Job 21:13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
Job 21:14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
Job 21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
Lam 3:1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

It is God’s elect who know “the rod of His wrath” in this age. “The rod of His wrath”, as the fulness of His wrath, is not being poured out upon the wicked at this time. It is poured out upon His elect in this life. If it is not, then they will not be in the temple of God. All flesh abides under His wrath while in unbelief, but that wrath is poured out and is filled up (Rev 15) in this life, only on those who are destined to be “over comers” and to stand on that “sea of glass mingled with fire” and to rule with Christ in His kingdom, both now within and then without.

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

All mankind is born in unbelief and continues in God’s wrath while remaining in unbelief. The word translated ‘abideth’ here in Joh 3:36 is translated as ‘continue’ in this verse of Joh 8:

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

So while God’s wrath abides on “the whole creation” who are in unbelief even now, it is granted to only very few to know the fulness of His wrath and to come out from under that wrath while still in earthen vessels in this age. Job is the Old Testament type of those who fulfill the seven plagues of the seven angels while still in these “vessels of clay”.

Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

By what system are those “which have the firstfruits of the spirit” redeemed? Here is how that is accomplished. Here is how the overcomers are granted to stand upon that “sea of glass mingled with fire”:

Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plaguesof the seven angels were fulfilled.

As blasphemous as it sounds to the self- righteous Job, who we all are at first, it is through Satan that God accomplishes all the evil that is done “in the city” and in all the world. It is through Satan that God brings suffering to His elect while physically prospering the wicked. Both the prayer and the physical prosperity of the wicked are an abomination to God.

Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Pro 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

What are “man’s goings”?

Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

With God’s sovereignty over all things, including “man’s goings”, let’s remember what the Lord is dong to Job within us:

Job 2:7 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 is nothing more or less than “an instrument for His work”. God pours out His wrath upon His elect first, and while using His “seven angels”, His messengers, to make known what He is doing in pouring out his wrath, the evil in that wrath is accomplished via Satan and his angels, as we see here in this story of Job, in the story of King Saul being troubled by “an evil spirit from the Lord”, and by the ‘lying spirits the Lord placed in the mouths of King Ahab’s prophets.

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having greatwrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

“His work” is always ultimately God’s work, if indeed it is God who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will”. God’s work in the lives of His elect is to use Satan to bring trials and to test us for the very purpose of bringing us to see what we are, and to bring us to want to be delivered from our old sinful flesh. His purpose, His “work”, is the destruction of our old man, and through that destruction, through the fulfilling of ‘the seven vials of the fulness of His wrath’ while still in these vessels of clay, to bring about the birth of our new man. This is a life long process and this process must take place in every man “in his own order” (1Co 15:23), but it must “first begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).
This time of judgment in this life “is but a vapor that appears for a moment then vanishes away” from God’s perspective, but from the perspective of Job within us, this vapor that appears for a moment, seems to be an eternity of judging our poor, miserable, sinful flesh:

Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10 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.

“… He took a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes”. We naturally seek relief from our trials as we sit in the ashes of our old man’s world.
“Do you retain your integrity? Curse God and die.” This is Job’s wife, who at this point, is simply the symbol of the church and her doctrines within us. She is the Old Testament symbol of ‘the second beast which comes up out of the earth. She has ‘two horns like a lamb’, but here she is speaking for Satan himself, seeking to cause us “to worship the first beast” by cursing God. Job knew she was “speaking as one of the foolish women, but he still did not see his own self- righteousness. So Job’s wife is the symbol of the same spirit which tells us that God’s wrath has not and will not ever be poured out upon our ungodliness and unrighteousnesses. And she tells us this even as we “abide in his wrath”.

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Nevertheless the truth remains that all this very suffering is the patience and faith of the saints, and no man can enter into the temple until the seven vials of the seven angels are fulfilled in that man’s life.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Job’s wife within us tells us that we will be raptured out and away from the seven vials of the seven angels, or we simply will be saved from that part of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Job’s wife symbolizes all the doctrines which simply do not see the need for Job or any of us to endure the sufferings of the seven plagues of the seven vials of the seven angels. But the Truth remains:

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

It is the spirit of Job’s wife who points to 1Th 1:10; 5:9, as if these verses declare God’s wrath is not poured out on the unrighteousness of God’s elect as per Rom 1:18, and as if we have never been under God’s wrath as per Joh 3:36.

1Th 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

All of mankind is “appointed… to obtain salvation”, and none of mankind is “appointed to wrath” for all eternity. We are not appointed to death, because we are dying daily. We are not blind because we acknowledge that we were born blind from out mother’s womb. We are found because we know we were lost, and we are not appointed to wrath because we acknowledge that “we were the children of wrath even as others”.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

The spirit which is symbolized by Job’s wife’s advise ignores the sum of God’s Word concerning the fact that “the patience and faith of the saints” is to “keep the things written” in “this book”. Read all of these verses in Rev 13 and 14, and then notice how it is all summed up.

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Job in us has no integrity in and of himself. What he and we all have at first is self- righteousness, which naturally causes us to to declare that we have never blasphemed the name of God, and we will never endure the fullness of His wrath. It is the self- righteous spirit of Job within us which causes us all to question God’s ways. The ways of God which we especially question are the need for all this suffering. Even the flesh of Christ Himself questioned the need for the suffering which God had laid upon Him as He poured out His wrath and forsook Christ “for a little moment”.

Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Christ’s flesh did not want to die, and He tells us as much. Nevertheless, He too, had to live by His own Words:

Mat 4:4 But he [ Christ] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

“Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” certainly includes the words of this prophecy of our Lord:

Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Did Christ’s Father forsake Him? He certainly thought so:

Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

If even our Lord’s flesh questioned why His Father would forsake Him and pour out His wrath upon Him, then it follows that we too, will live by those very words. Job’s life is being lived within us and as such, it certainly does just that.
Job’s wife, as a woman is in scripture, is the symbol of the church, whether it is Christ’s first unfaithful wife, or His faithful wife, who is also called “the New Jerusalem”.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

At this point in our walk, Job’s wife is the mother of his ten children who all have to be destroyed so Job can endure this fiery experience of losing all this world has to offer. At this point Job’s wife within us will encourage us to “curse God and die”, rather than “endure to the end” the necessary trials, endured by our Lord Himself, which prepare us to be worthy rulers and priests of God,

Job 2:11 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.

Who are these three friends of Job? Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite? Instead we need to know, what do these three men represent? The scriptures demonstrate that the names of these men are the same as the names of the descendants of Ishmael and Esau. Uz is the land of their inheritance. If we know who dwells in Uz, then we will know who these men are. As it turns out these men are all Job’s own kindred, all descended from Abraham, and are thereby a type of Job’s own flesh, coming as supposed comforters, who in actual fact are his tormentors. That is exactly what our flesh does to us all.

2Pe 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty [ comfort], they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

That is a perfect description of Job’s supposed comforters, who in reality are nothing more than three judgmental, self- righteous tormentors. That is what our own self- righteous flesh produces.
Here are some scriptures which show us who these three men are:

Gen 36:1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
Gen 36:2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
Gen 36:3 And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
Gen 36:4 And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;
Gen 36:11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
Gen 25:1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Gen 25:2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Jos 15:21 And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,
Jos 15:41 And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:

Where did these men all live?

Lam 4:21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
Lam 4:22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.

It was Edom, or Esau, and his descendants who lived in the land of Uz.
God’s elect can “rejoice” in knowing that their “iniquity is accomplished” and that they are “the daughter of Edom” before they are brought to become the “daughter of Zion”.
“… For they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.” When we see a brother in distress, we first want to comfort them, and so we do. But there is a lesson here which we will soon see. That lesson for us is that we all tend to be judgmental of others while having three fingers pointing back at ourselves.

Job 2:12 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.
Job 2:13 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.

“They knew him not” simply because self- righteous Job had fallen and was now sitting in the ashes of his former glory”. Here is this same scene describing our experience as Job in the words of the New Testament.

Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

When the “day of our visitation” comes we, like Job, lose all that is ours in this world in one day. Job is us. and it is we who are to “keep the things written” in the book of “the revelation of Jesus Christ within us”.
Next week, if the Lord wills, we will see more of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us through this story of Job’s experience.

Job 3:1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
Job 3:2 And Job spake, and said,
Job 3:3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
Job 3:4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
Job 3:5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
Job 3:6 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.
Job 3:7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
Job 3:8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
Job 3:9 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:
Job 3:10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.