Job 33:1-17 “Behold, I Am According To Thy Wish In God’s Stead”

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Job 33:1 Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.
Job 33:2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth.
Job 33:3 My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Job 33:5 If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up.
Job 33:6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay.
Job 33:7 Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.
Job 33:8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 33:10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.
Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Job 33:14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

Introduction

Job, as we all do when we are being severely tried, had asked God to come and speak plainly and clearly with him.

Job 13:22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
Job 13:23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
Job 13:24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?

He repeats this request in chapter 31:

Job 31:35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary [ the Almighty] had written a book.
Job 31:36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
Job 31:37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

In our study today, we will see that God is, through the channel of Elihu, answering this request Job has made. In the Old Testament, God always sent a prophet to witness to His people, in advance of the work He is doing with His people. In the same manner, God is still sending to us His witnesses before He reveals Himself to us:

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?
Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

The greatest “secret” which the Lord is revealing to mankind is this:

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery [ Greek, secret] among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

The entirety of scripture deals with the shedding of the earthy “old man” and the putting on of the heavenly, “the earnest of the spirit… Christ in you… new man”. But like all of us, Job is at first under the impression that his earthy old man is just simply not all that bad, and he certainly is not worthy of the stripes and plagues being laid upon him.

“Oh, that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary [ the Almighty] had written a book. Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.”

Contrast that spirit of proud self- confidence with the humble spirit to which God will eventually bring Job:

Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

This book of Job is just giving to all of us an outline of the details which flesh out and make clear the meaning of these words of God:

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption [ flesh] inherit incorruption [ spirit].

There are men who are considered to be great men of God, who teach that we will be raised in bodies of “spiritual flesh”. They point to Christ showing his physical wounds to Thomas as proof that Christ was raised in a body of “spiritual flesh”. Is that the point Christ was making when He showed Himself with a physical body which still bore the wounds of His crucifixion? Or was not that all done just to admonish us all for our own lack of faith?

Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Joh 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Joh 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Joh 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Joh 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Here are Christ’s own words concerning whether there is such a thing as “spiritual flesh”:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

“Flesh is flesh, and… spirit is spirit”. There is no such thing as eternal “spiritual flesh”. Spirit has the capability of appearing as flesh, but it is not flesh.
Job is the Old Testament type of our “earthy… old man” who thinks his salvation hinges on his own faith, on his own will and on his own actions. But of course the Truth is that our old man brings nothing to God’s table, and is nothing more than a piece of clay in the Potter’s hand:

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

The scriptures are painfully clear that our will is not even a factor in our salvation:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Job, the type of each of us as our first, proud, self- confident, old man, has asked God to speak to him and to show him what is his sin. God is now going to answer that request through His servant Elihu who beseeches us on God’s behalf:

Job 33:1 Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.
Job 33:2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth.
Job 33:3 My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.

God’s words are spirit and cannot be understood by the natural man:

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But the scriptures clearly define and “compare spiritual things with spiritual”. This is foolishness to the natural mind of any natural man. Elihu is a type of those who have been granted the mind of the spirit:

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Job 33:5 If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up.
Job 33:6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay.

Many who want to worship a Savior with no connection to Adamic flesh do not want to admit that Christ Himself was “made of clay… made of a woman”, and was both “made of a woman” as well as being “of the holy spirit”.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Mat 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Anyone who says that Christ was only made of the spirit, and was not also “made of a woman” is labeled by the spirit as “that spirit of antichrist”.

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh [“the same… flesh and blood”] is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Was Christ’s flesh “the same” Adamic flesh with which you and I struggle? What do the scriptures teach? Was Mary really given a supernatural egg, as some suppose, to keep Christ from having any connection to sinful flesh, or was Christ born with a body of sinful flesh which was the same as the sinful flesh of Abraham’s children? Here is what the scriptures teach in answer to that question:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

“Shapen in iniquity… conceived in sin” is the very meaning of being “made of a woman, made under the law”. We are told that Eve is the mother of all living, which is the very meaning of her name:

Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

If Christ is excluded from that Truth, then why bother telling us that He was “made of a woman, made under the law”?
Now notice what the phrase “under the law” means:

Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Was Christ’s flesh not cursed until it ‘hung on a tree’? Or was it also “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin… the same [ as] the children [ of] Abraham”? Again, what do the scriptures teach?

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Here is what it means to be “under the law”:

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith [“of Jesus Christ”] came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

“The scripture has concluded all under sin… we were kept under the law”, and we are plainly told that Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law”. In other words Christ was “made sin who knew no sin”. How can He be “made sin” and yet it can be said He “knew no sin”? Explaining this apparent contradiction is the very purpose for the sin offering which mentions no particular sin versus the trespass offering which innumerates many sins.

The sin offering which mentions no particular sin

Lev 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
Lev 4:14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
Lev 4:16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 4:17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.
Lev 4:18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

The trespass offering which mentions many sins

Lev 5:1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
Lev 5:2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.
Lev 5:3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
Lev 5:4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.
Lev 5:5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:
Lev 5:6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.

Why was Israel given two separate offerings dealing with sin? The answer is to be found in these two verses of scripture:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

So Christ was made of a woman who was “made of clay, [ and] was marred in the hand of the Potter”. He came in a “marred… vessel of clay” so he could identify with and comfort us in all of our struggles in “the same… sinful flesh”.

Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

How much “in the likeness of sinful flesh” was our Lord? What do the scriptures teach us on this subject?

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Does this mean that Christ was actually tempted in the same way you and I, who are also in “bodies of sinful flesh”, are tempted? Was Christ really tempted to trespass and sin against His Father?

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Did Christ’s flesh really want to go against the will of His Father? Was He that much “like unto His brothers”? What do the scriptures teach us? Here is Christ struggling against His own “sinful flesh” which did not want to do things the way His Father had already determined they were to be done:

Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

“Not My will” tells us that Christ’s flesh was struggling against the will of His Father just as yours or mine would if we were facing an excruciating death at age 33. Christ was indeed tempted to forgo the cross. That temptation came at both the beginning and at the end of His ministry. It was such a strong temptation that “an angel came and strengthened Him”.

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Mat 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Luk 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
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 Christ was indeed “made sin”, and it was long before he was “hung on a tree”. Christ was made sin when He “emptied Himself” of His divinity and entered into this realm of death known as “the valley of the shadow of death”, which are these “marred clay vessels” of “sinful flesh and blood”. It is because this is true that He can say with Elihu…

Job 33:7 Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.

Speaking for Christ, Elihu speaks as Christ:

Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Christ has never said that His yoke was not a yoke of tribulation and trials and suffering. What He does say is that the sufferings we endure in His service are easier than the sufferings of those who refuse to serve him.

Pro 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
Jer 17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

What we must never forget is the very thing Job does not know, and that is the fact that “double destruction” is ordained for the “sinful flesh… the old man” of all men of all time, giving us all an experience of evil which is common to all men of all time:

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.

That “one event” is the “double destruction” of the old man who is within us all. This is Elihu’s motivation in pleading with Job:

Job 33:8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.

Some commentators condemn Elihu for telling Job that he had said “I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me”. While it is true that Job had not used those exact words, Job did say:

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

The fact that Job had already confessed to past sins proves that he thinks that all his sins are past, and it proves that he is totally unaware of His own most insidious sin of self- righteousness. Job assumes that he is presently righteous, and that his present righteousness entitles him to contend with his Creator. Listen to how presumptuous we are in our own self- righteousness:

Job 10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore [ why] thou contendest with me.
Job 10:3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
Job 10:4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
Job 10:5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,
Job 10:6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
Job 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
Job 10:8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.

Job had no trouble seeing the lack of integrity in others, but being the Old Testament type of who we are, Job was also the Old Testament version of the self- righteous Pharisee who thought that somehow he was “not like other men”:

Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you [ Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar]: 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.
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.

But while Job is the Old Testament type of who we are as the self- righteous Pharisee and “the first man Adam”, Elihu is also the type of who we are as God’s witnesses to Him and His kingdom. As His witnesses we are to witness to this world against all their untrue accusations against Him and His sovereignty in all things. Elihu’s point is that God creates evil, and as Job himself allows, the evil Job is experiencing is God’s Work and God gives no accounting to men of any of his ways.

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.
Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
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.

Twice Job laid all the evil that happened to him at God’s door, and we are twice told “in all of this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly”. Yet knowing that it is all a work of a God who cannot be resisted, Job, who is a type of each of us, thinks he can contend with His Maker, reprove Him and condemn Him for his judgments.

Job 33:10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.

Job, according to God Himself, condemned God for marking his sins, and counting Job as His enemy. Job does not think God is justified in “find[ ing] occasions against” his self righteous old man.

Job 14:16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
Job 14:17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
Job 13:23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
Job 13:24 Wherefore [ why] hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
Job 13:25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
Job 13:26 For thou writest
bitter things against me
, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
Job 13:27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.
Job 19:6 Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
Job 19:7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
Job 19:8 He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
Job 19:9 He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
Job 19:10 He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
Job 19:11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.
Job 19:12 His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle.
Job 31:23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

 Here is Elihu’s admonition to Job for contending with a God who Job knows is all powerful:

Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Job 33:14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.

How true it is that we do not at first hear the voice of God in His judgments against our doomed “self- righteous… old man”. Job himself confesses that God tormented him night and day:

Job 7:3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
Job 7:4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

Job lets us know that he, as the type of who we are, was “terrified” with dreams and with visions of the night which God sent to him to open his ears to God’s voice.

Job 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:

So Elihu confirms for us:

Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

Only after God brings us to fear to disobey Him does He give us ears that hear. Peter thought he had ears that could hear His Master’s words, but it was only after he, like Job, was brought to see that he of himself could do nothing that he was at last given ears to hear and to obey His Master’s words:

Mat 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Mat 26:32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

Like Job, Peter, who is also a type of who we are, contended with the very man he had confessed was “the Son of God”.

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Mat 26:32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
Mat 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
Mat 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mat 26:35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Like Job, Peter did not believe that God would cause him to do anything so very evil, but that was exactly what happened, “That He may with draw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man”.

To this lesson in humility the book of Ecclesiastes speaks:

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

The fact is that no flesh will ever be permitted to glory in the presence of our God:

1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

It is in this same book of 1 Corinthians that we are told that our old man, “the first man Adam” has been created to be destroyed, and through that destruction to be transformed into “the last Adam” who will be given the promises.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Here are the verses we will be studying next week:

Job 33:18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
Job 33:19 He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain:
Job 33:20 So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.
Job 33:21 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.
Job 33:22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
Job 33:23 If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:
Job 33:24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
Job 33:25 His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth:
Job 33:26 He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
Job 33:27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
Job 33:28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
Job 33:29 Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man,
Job 33:30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
Job 33:31 Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak.
Job 33:32 If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee.
Job 33:33 If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.

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