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Job 30:1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
Job 30:2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?
Job 30:3 For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
Job 30:4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.
Job 30:5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)
Job 30:6 To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
Job 30:7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
Job 30:8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
Job 30:9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
Job 30:10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.
Job 30:11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
Job 30:12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
Job 30:13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
Job 30:14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.
Job 30:15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.

Introduction

The last chapter given to Job’s accusers was chapter 25, in which Bildad admitted that mankind, of himself, could not be justified before God.

Job 25:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Job 25:2 Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.
Job 25:3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
Job 25:5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
Job 25:6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

Bildad, along with Eliphaz and Zophar, are all the types of us before our own eyes are opened to the sovereignty of God. These men typify us while we are withstanding those who first bring us the true light of God’s Truth. These men typify us while we are conceding that ‘Yes, of course, God is sovereign, but I still have a will that is free of His influence, and if I do not, of my own free will choose to believe in and obey Him, then my fate is in my own hands.’ Bildad is the perfect example of how you and I contradict ourselves while claiming to believe that God is sovereign.
“How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in His sight. How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?” These are the words of the same man who began accusing Job with these words:

Job 8:5 If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, andmake thy supplication to the Almighty;
Job 8:6 If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
Job 8:20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:

Do we, as Bildad and his friends, believe that mankind can be “a perfect man”, or do we believe that mankind is “a worm” which cannot be “justified with God?” Like Bildad we all want to have it both ways. We actually teach that God is sovereign, and at the same time we teach that we, too, are sovereign over our own fate. But both cannot be true.
Job, the type and shadow of God’s elect being dragged to God, has had the floor since chapter 25, which was the chapter in which Bildad conceded that man is but a worm. Job is the type of us while we are being crushed by God’s wrath upon our self- righteous “old man”. But rather than seeing himself as the self- righteous man of sin within the temple of God sitting on the throne of God, which is how God sees him, Job, as the type of each of us, has placed all of his attention upon discrediting his accusers in every chapter since chapter 25. This is all written for each of us to see what is in our flesh and how little we are willing to deny that flesh or confess to how worthless this self- righteous flesh is. Our flesh is so dear to us that we focus all our attention on the faults of others rather than confess that we ourselves are a self- righteous Pharisee, whose self- righteous sins are far more repugnant to our Creator than are the sins of those who have not been given to know Him as we have.
Job’s miserable comforters have let him know what is their true opinion of him, and Job, the type of us, is just carnal and self- righteous enough to return evil for evil, which is exactly what he now does:

Job 30:1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
Job 30:2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

“They that are younger than I” refers specifically to Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. “In whom old age was perished” is Job’s way of expressing just how much he disdained the fathers of his accusers. Of course when Job says “Whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock”, he is really referring to Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
Now let’s consider what Job has done with this opportunity the holy spirit has given him to express himself concerning what the Lord is doing in his life. In chapter 26 Job compares his own righteousness and his own good works to those of his accusers, while he contends that his dire circumstances are simply the result of God’s ways, which are past the understanding of his accusers.

Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
Job 26:14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?

In chapter 27 Job continues to reprove God even as he continues to justify himself by comparing himself to his accusers:

Job 27:2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
Job 27:4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
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.
Job 27:7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

In chapter 28 Job, showing us who we are, speaks of wisdom as if he had already certainly been granted the fear of the very God he is at this very moment reproving, with whom he is contending, and whom he is condemning.

Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Job wants to believe he fears God and has departed from evil, but his self- righteous spirit belies this and speaks louder than his words.
In chapter 29 Job continued to reveal to us just how extremely ignorant we all are of our own- self righteousness. He credits himself with all the good works which God had given him the very breath and the strength and the means to perform. God is not the center of Job 29. Job, and all of Job’s goodness and Job’s good works, are the center of that chapter.

Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

In telling us of how well received he was by those who benefited from all those good works, Job is revealing to us how much we all just naturally crave the approbation and accolades of this world. He, as the type of who we are, longs again for the days when the people of this world respected and honored him. He does not see any reason or any need for being “hated of all men” or having “the seven plagues… which fill up the wrath of God” being poured out upon the kingdom of our old man. God’s wrath being poured out on our old self- righteous man within us seems as unnecessary for Job in us as it does to Babylon within us to this very day. This is the way we are in spite of these verses in Rev 15.

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.

Job admits that this pouring out of God’s wrath upon him is exactly what is taking place in his life, but he has no clue as to why “the seven plagues… which fill up the wrath of God” need to be poured out on a man who is as righteous as he is. It is in his total lack of understanding of what is needed to burn out this sin of self- righteousness, that Job, as the type of our own self- righteous old man, expresses his frustration with why God is pouring out His wrath upon Job.

Job 3:20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
Job 10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Job 10:18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
Job 13:24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
Job 16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

Not understanding what this sin of self- righteousness is or that “man shall… live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4), Zophar agrees with Job concerning the work of the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our self- righteous “old man… of sin”.

Job 20:23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

What this book demonstrates is just how unimpressed God is with us when we self- righteously credit ourselves with what He is working in our lives. What this book demonstrates is the judgment of the self- righteous Pharisee within us who looks down on the sinful publican who was no longer suffering from any sense of self- righteousness. Both Job and his miserable comforters are looking down on each other, and in doing so, they are both types of who we are when we are suffering from that insidious plague.
This book of Job demonstrates just how great the sin of self- righteousness is in us; that Pharisaic spirit in our flesh which looks down on “other men”, as Job’s miserable comforters look down on him and as he also continues now expressing his utter disdain of them.

Job 30:3 For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
Job 30:4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.

This continues to refer to the fathers and families of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who Job (within us) so greatly disdains. They are nothing more that vagabond beggars subsisting on a desert plant which was eaten as a salad, along with the roots of junipers. We all look down on the food of those we disdain, and consider our spiritual food to be far superior to that of those we all look down upon in our self- righteousness.

Job 30:5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)
Job 30:6 To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
Job 30:7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
Job 30:8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

“They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth”. Do we really believe that we are somehow not of “the earth”? Is not this the disdainful spirit of the self- righteous Pharisee who our Lord condemned? Is not this that very same spirit in His parable here?

Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

This is Job’s affliction within each of us. Elihu is sent to Job and his accusers as God’s witness against Job’s self- righteous spirit and that of his accusers. Elihu’s admonitions occupy chapters 32-37. But it takes God Himself to get through to us and to Job, and then through Job and through us, to get through to Job’s accusers.
Here is how God begins His examination of Job:

Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Job 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

But neither Elihu nor God have spoken to Job within us as yet, and Job, and all of us, are still bound by a spirit which thinks nothing of reproving God for what He is doing within us for our good as we are “made a spectacle before men and angels.”

Job 30:9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
Job 30:10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.
Job 30:11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.

“I am their byword. They… spit in my face. Because He has loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me”. This is what happened to our Savior, and this is what we, too, are called to endure. These are not just the words of the history of the life of Job and His friends. “These things happened to them, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world have come” just as they came upon our Savior:

Mat 26:67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

Mat 27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
Mat 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Mat 27:41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
Mat 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Mat 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Job knows that is it God Himself whose wrath is “afflicting him”. Whose wrath was poured out upon Christ’s body of flesh and blood? Was it the Jews? Was it the Romans who caused this to be done to our Lord?
What do the scriptures tell us so plainly?

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.
Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
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?
Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Who do the scriptures tell us was used by God to crucify our Lord? It was “The kings of the earth”, and who is “the earth” in the scriptures?

Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

So if we are given “ears to hear” it, it is each of us through whom Christ was delivered up to be crucified:

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for [ Greek – dia, through] our offences, and was raised again for [ Greek – dia, through] our justification.

So once again, the crucifixion of our Lord is more than just a history lesson, and once again, as is always the case, it is words which are for us.

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

It was “through our offenses… [ Christ] was delivered” to be crucified, and He “was raised again through our justification”. So the “Kings of the earth and the rulers” are also just types of the carnal mind of all men and of our own sinful flesh and blood, which is just naturally “carnal[ ly] mind[ ed and is just naturally] enmity against God”.

Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Job 30:12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
Job 30:13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
Job 30:14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.

“They have no helper” meaning “they set forward my calamity” so easily that they need no helper to do so.

Job 30:15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.

We fail to see how our own Lord experienced these very emotions.

Mat 26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

So Job is just a type and a shadow of who we are, and as Christ is, so are we in this world:

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

So once again we see that Job is us as we are being brought to understand that “there is one event to all men, [ that we must] live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, [ that] all things are ours, [ and that we are to] read, hear, and keep the things which are written therein.”

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Mat 4:4 But he 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.
1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Next week, Lord willing, we will continue to see just how this insidious plague of self- righteousness, which is common to all flesh of all men of all time, causes us to reprove, contend with and condemn our own Maker.
Here are the verses for next week’s study:

Job 30:15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.
Job 30:16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
Job 30:17 My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
Job 30:18 By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
Job 30:19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.
Job 30:20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
Job 30:21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
Job 30:22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.
Job 30:23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
Job 30:24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
Job 30:25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Job 30:26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
Job 30:27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
Job 30:28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
Job 30:29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
Job 30:30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
Job 30:31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.