Matthew 13:1–30 The Parable of the Sower and That of the Weeds

[Study Aired June 16, 2025]

The study today is about the parable of the Sower and of the weeds. In the study we shall come to understand why Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes. The study also highlights Jesus’ interpretation of the parable of the Sower to guide us, His elect, in understanding all His parables.  

Mar 4:13  And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 

The study ends with the parable of the weeds and its interpretation. 

The Parable of the Sower

Mat 13:1  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 
Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 

The use of the phrase “the same day” is to let us know how our Lord Jesus worked hard like an ox during the three and half years of His ministry here on earth. The Greek word for ‘ox’ is ’shore’, and it is translated in English as bullock, bull, cow, ox and oxen. A key characteristic of an ox is its service or production and increase in wealth during the Biblical days.

Pro 14:4  Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. 

It is through the work of Christ, described as an ox during His time here on earth, that has made us spiritually rich.

As we have indicated in previous studies, the great multitude that followed Jesus represents those who are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. They signify our brothers and sisters in the physical churches of this world who are not given to understand the spiritual reality of the word of the Lord. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were part of the multitude when we were in the churches of this world. It is significant to note that the multitude stood on the shore while Jesus got up from the shore and went into a ship to speak to the multitude. 

In the Book of Revelation, it was while we were standing at the shore of the sea that we saw the beast coming out of the sea. Standing on the shore signifies our time in the churches of Babylon, since the shore represents the earth, but its closeness to the sea means that it is influenced by the sea of flesh as the raging waves of the sea foams out their own shame on the corridors of Babylon (shore). It is in Babylon that the Lord starts to show us what we really are – a beast! 

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. 

Jud 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 

Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 

The fact that Jesus was sitting on the shore before He went into a ship is to demonstrate to us that to know our Lord Jesus Christ, we must first be in Babylon before we are given to be in a ship of fellow elect, plowing through the sea of flesh. 

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

As we are aware, the sea represents the flesh of man, and being in a ship on the sea signifies overcoming the pulls of the flesh. In other words, being in a ship on the sea means being delivered from the pulls of the flesh. It is when the Lord comes to us with His judgment that we are gradually delivered from the pulls of the flesh and are given to hear Him speak to us.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 

In verse 3, the Lord spoke to the great multitude in a ship while they were standing on the shore of the sea, which represents the churches of this world or Babylon. In this age, the Lord speaks in parables to our brothers and sisters in Babylon so that they cannot understand. The reason they cannot understand is that they are of their father the devil. In times past, we were also of our father the devil, and therefore we could not understand what the Lord was saying to us. 

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 
Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 
Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 
Mat 13:7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 
Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 
Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  

Without Jesus explaining what the parable of the sower means, it would have been impossible for us to understand what He was saying to us who were part of the multitude at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. From verses 4 to 7, the parable shows us our responses when we heard the word of the Lord in our time in Babylon. We did not appreciate the truth of the word of the Lord because we were spiritually blind and deaf. In the fullness of time, when the Lord opened our hearts and minds to understand His words, we started to produce fruit. This is the Lord’s explanation of the parable of the Sower: 

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 
Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 
Mat 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 

The Lord’s explanation of the parable of the sower is to teach us, His elect, how to rightly divide the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

In Matthew 13:23, it is the good ground that received the seed or the word of the Lord sown, and as a result was able to bear fruits. The good ground refers to the heart and mind of an elect. As we are aware, it takes time for a farmer to prepare the soil for planting. In a similar way, it takes time for our hearts and minds to be prepared to be recipients of the word of the Lord. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

The preparation of our hearts and minds is the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh, which we are going through to prepare us to receive the word of the Lord and to bear fruits of the spirit. These are the fruits of the spirit which we are to bear:

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

The Purpose of the Parables

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

These verses show us that in this age, the Lord is saving a few people known as His elect. In verse 11, the elect who are privileged to be saved in this age are represented by the Lord’s disciples. What verse 11 also means is that it is a privilege in this age to be given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven and not a right. We are called and chosen before the foundation of the world by God to be saved in this age. 

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Those who are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven are the people of this world and our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world or Babylon. Their bondage to corruption is all part of the design by the Lord to prevent them from understanding the mysteries of the kingdom in this age. In Romans 8:20, we are told that it is not that people choose to sin willingly, but that their subjection to vanity is according to the counsel of God with the aim of liberating them at the right time to become the sons of God. That is why the whole of creation are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, His elect, who will be the agents of liberation of the people of the world including our brothers and sisters in Babylon.

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

We are therefore the source of salvation or saviors to the whole of humanity. 

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

The verses following show us how the Lord is making the people of this world, including our brothers and sisters in Babylon, blind, so that they do not know Him in this age.  

Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

The Lord is taking away from our brothers and sisters in Babylon even the little knowledge they have of the Lord and giving it to us, His elect. In other words, the Lord is making blind our brothers and sisters in Babylon including the people of the world, so that they do not come to know the truth in this age. As a result, the word of the Lord has become a parable to them to keep them in blindness, as shown in verse 13.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees [our brothers and sisters in Babylon] which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. 

Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

The blindness of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world is due to the smoke that comes out of the bottomless pit, which represents our hearts and minds. The smoke is the false doctrines in their hearts and minds that eclipse the truth of the word of the Lord such that hearing they will hear and not understand, and seeing they will see and not perceive. 

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 

The propagators of these false doctrines are the false prophets who are described as locusts in the verses above. They come as angels of light but inwardly, they are grievous wolves. 

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

The works of these false prophets show themselves by people’s hearts becoming gross as their ears become dull of hearing and their eyes are blinded to the truth of the word of the Lord, as shown in verse 15. We must remember that at a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were also in such condition, as our eyes were blinded and our ears could not hear the truth.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins
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. 
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.     

It is indeed a privilege to be counted as children of the Lord in this age. Not that we deserved it, but in His mercy, He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to become saviors with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

The prophets and righteous men of old were not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. All the work they did was for our sake, as shown in the following verses:

1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

As verses 18 to 23 highlight the explanation of the parable of the Sower, which we have addressed, we shall proceed to the parable of the weeds as follows:

The Parable of the Weeds

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 

The man who sowed good seed in his field represents Christ and His Christ. The good seed signifies the word of the Lord. The field represents our hearts and minds. Christ came to us when we were part of the people of the world to deliver us so that we shall no longer conform to the standards of this world, but live as children of Christ. In our zeal, we unsuspectingly entered the churches of this world thinking we shall grow in the knowledge of Christ and His grace. However, as the parable suggests, this is the period of our walk when we were spiritually sleeping, just like the ten virgins who fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom.  In other words, it is while we were in the churches of this world that we fell asleep and the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat that is sown in our hearts and minds. The enemy here represents the devil who works through his false prophets to sow false doctrines of man’s wisdom and traditions in our hearts and minds while we were in the corridors of the churches of this world. These false doctrines are the tares.

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  

It is the fruits which are born by the wheat and the tares that serves to distinguish between them. If false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition (tares) are sown in our hearts, we shall end up producing the fruits of the flesh. On the other hand, if the truth of the word of the Lord (wheat) is sown in our hearts, the result shall be the fruits of the spirit. 

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

As Jesus said, by our fruits, we shall know whether we are of Christ or the evil one. 

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 

Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 

In verse 28, the servants of the householder wanted to go and gather up the tares, but he stopped them by saying that they should let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest, since in gathering up the tares, the wheat may also be rooted up. The fact that it is until the harvest that the tares will be gathered together and burnt means that it takes time for us effectively distinguish between the truth of the word of the Lord and false doctrines. It is as we are maturing spiritually that we can discern clearly between the truth of the Lord’s words and the false doctrines of the devil. The time of the harvest is therefore the period in our lives when our senses are exercised to discern the truth from false doctrines which are destroyed in our lives by the hail of the truth of His words. In other words, it is the time of the harvest that we are able to test the spirit to see if it is of the Lord.     

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 

Eze 44:15  But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: 

Eze 44:23  And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 
Eze 44:24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. 

We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for favoring us to be called and chosen in this age, to the praise of His glory. Amen!!  

Ruth 2:1 –23: Go Not to Glean in Another Field

[Study Aired October 11, 2021]

Rth 2:1  And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. 
Rth 2:2  And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 
Rth 2:3  And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. 
Rth 2:4  And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. 
Rth 2:5  Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 
Rth 2:6  And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: 
Rth 2:7  And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. 
Rth 2:8  Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: 
Rth 2:9  Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. 
Rth 2:10  Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? 
Rth 2:11  And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 
Rth 2:12  The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 
Rth 2:13  Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. 
Rth 2:14  And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. 
Rth 2:15  And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: 
Rth 2:16  And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. 
Rth 2:17  So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. 
Rth 2:18  And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. 
Rth 2:19  And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. 
Rth 2:20  And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. 
Rth 2:21  And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. 
Rth 2:22  And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. 
Rth 2:23  So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law. 

The first chapter of Ruth deals with how our Lord uses His four sore judgments, specifically, famine, to bring us from Babylon to the Heavenly Jerusalem or the body of Christ. Both Naomi and Ruth, representing the elect, came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

It is during our time in Bethlehem, or the church of the first born which is represented by the period of the harvest, that we come to clearly see the tares (false doctrines and our iniquities) and the wheat (the truth) through the angels sent by our Lord. That is when all the tares in us are destroyed by our fiery trials, and we are ready to be harvested as mature sons of God.

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Chapter 2 of Ruth deals with the process we go through to mature in Christ after entering the house of God or the Heavenly Jerusalem as indicated by the entry of Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem, the house of bread.

Rth 1:22  So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

Rth 2:1  And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

At the beginning of this Chapter, we are introduced to the One who makes all things possible, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. Elimelech means ‘my God is king’ and Boaz means ‘in Him is strength’. From the meaning of the names here, we can see that Boaz here represents the Lord Jesus Christ. A mighty man of wealth suggests that all the resources of both heaven and earth are at His disposal. He is indeed a great God!!

Psa 95:1  O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Psa 95:2  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psa 95:3  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psa 95:4  In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
Psa 95:5  The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Psa 95:6  O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

Rth 2:2  And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
Rth 2:3  And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

The field, as explained by our Lord Jesus in the parable of the tares and wheat, is the world. So, what verse 2 is saying is that it is in this life, or world, that the elect gets to know the word of God, represented here by gleaning of ears of corn. If we are blessed for our eyes to see and ears to hear, then it means that we have found grace in our Lord’s sight just as Ruth was looking to find favor to glean ears of corn. The rest of humanity will get to know Christ through the word during the lake of fire age.

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

As we are aware, our steps are ordered by the Lord as we see Ruth end up in the field of Boaz. This field of Boaz also stands for the church of the first born or heavenly Jerusalem. What this means is that in whatever situation we find ourselves, we must rejoice knowing that our Lord is working things out for our good and that what He starts, He is able to finish because He has all the resources to do so!!

Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

The reapers here are the angels or messengers of God who speak the fiery words of the Lord. Gleaning in the field after the reapers means we follow the messengers as they follow Christ.

1Co 11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Rth 2:4  And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.

It is in the church that we get to know who our Lord Jesus is. Our coming to know Christ is the same as the revelation of Christ to Apostle John on the island of Patmos. As we have learned, the whole of our walk with Christ is to know Him, and that is the essence of eternal life.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Rth 2:5  Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 
Rth 2:6  And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
Rth 2:7  And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

The servant that was set over the reapers also represents our Lord Jesus, and therefore what we are being told here is that our Lord knew us even before we came to know Him, and He is concerned about us.

Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Psa 139:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Psa 139:4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Such knowledge about the fact that all my actions including my thought formation and what comes out of my mouth are all ordered by the Lord is impossible to attain while we walk in the flesh as revealed in Psalm 139:6 above.

The statement in verse 7 that “she had continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house” is to let us know that our Lord is aware of our labor and all that we are doing in the kingdom, and He has assured us that our labor just like that of Ruth, who stands for the elect, will never be in vain in the Lord.

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Rth 2:8  Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

Here our Lord, represented here by Boaz, is admonishing us not to go glean in another field. That means we must focus on the word of God and not be distracted by our works or anything else. Paying attention to anything but the word of God amounts to gleaning in another field. Another field also represents Babylon which represents the religions of this world including Christianity. It is the word of God which is able to build us up and to give us an inheritance.

Act 20:32  And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Boaz also admonished Ruth to abide by the maidens. That means we should not stay away from the church of the first born.

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We must continually be in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ as this fellowship invariably involves our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

1Jn 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Rth 2:9  Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap and go thou after them is another way of saying that we must pay attention to what we hear from the messengers or angels of the Lord. In other words, we must hold on fast to what we hear. If we do not do that, it will cost us our crown.

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Boaz charging the young men not to harm Ruth is another way of saying that no weapon formed or fashioned against us shall prosper as the Lord (Boaz) is in full control of both good and evil. In this case, the young men are used in a negative sense.

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.
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Ruth was also instructed by Boaz to go to the vessel and drink of that which the young men have drawn. The young men in this context represents the messengers of the Lord who are providing us with the word of God. So, what we are being told here is that the way to grow or mature as sons of God is to put into practice (drink) what we hear from our brothers and sisters who are laboring for the gospel.

Jas 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Rth 2:10  Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

We all have found grace in the sight of the Lord by being allowed to see and to hear His words of life even though we were strangers just like Ruth. We were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, but in the fullness of time, our Lord has brought us who were far off to become part of His elect.

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Finding grace is another way of saying that our Lord is leading us in the way to know Him as we saw Moses making a request for the Lord to show him the way if he has found grace in the Lord’s sight.

Exo 33:13  Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Exo 33:15  And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

As we can see in verse 14 and 15 of Exodus Chapter 33, as we find grace in the sight of our Lord, we are assured of His presence to go with us to give us rest in Him. This rest is coming to know that we, of ourselves, cannot do anything and that everything is of the Lord including our salvation. That is when we cease from our own works and depend on God alone for everything.

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Rth 2:11  And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 
Rth 2:12  The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 

These verses are another way of expressing the fact that anyone who has left all to follow our Lord will surely be rewarded.

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Rth 2:13  Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. 
Rth 2:14  And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

Boaz inviting Ruth to come and eat is to let us know that finding favor in the sight of our Lord is being given eyes to see and ears to hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying to us through His words.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

In verse 14, Ruth did eat and became satisfied. As our understanding deepens concerning the word of God, we become satisfied by being content with whatever situation we find ourselves in knowing that our Lord is with us and is working out our salvation.

Psa 36:8  They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psa 36:9  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Psa 36:10  O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

Rth 2:15  And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: 
Rth 2:16  And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. 

Reproach her not in verse 15 and rebuke her not in verse 16 means we must not put impediments in the way of new believers as they seek to know the truth.

Rom 14:13  Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Rom 14:14  I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
Rom 14:15  For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. (ESV)

1Co 8:9  But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
1Co 8:10  For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?
1Co 8:11  And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.
1Co 8:12  Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
1Co 8:13  Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. (ESV)

Rth 2:17  So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.

Gleaning in the field until evening implies that for the rest of our lives until the sun goes down on us, or our body is destroyed through death, we must focus on hearing what our Lord is saying through the word. Beating what she gleaned signifies acting or obeying what we have heard.

Jas 1:19  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Jas 1:20  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Jas 1:21  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:22  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Jas 1:23  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
Jas 1:24  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
Jas 1:25  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (ESV)

The statement “And it was about an ephah of barley” is to show us that as we hear and act on the word of God, we are being measured by the Lord. An ephah is a biblical measure of volume. It is about 9 gallons or 40 liters. We are being measured to see whether we are attaining the standard of Christ. Those who are not part of the new Jerusalem are not being measured in this life.

Rev 11:1  Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,
Rev 11:2  but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

Rth 2:18  And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
Rth 2:19  And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.

As we hear and act on the word of God, we must share what we are receiving from the Lord with the body of Christ or the New Jerusalem, signified here by the mother-in-law, Naomi. We must feel free to share or discuss with our brothers and sisters in the body what we have gleaned from the word of God. This sharing or discussion of the word of God is what every joint supplies.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

To the Babylonians and the people of the world, we must be ready to answer them when they come to us enquiring about our faith.

1Pe 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Rth 2:20  And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

In the CEV version of the Bible, this is how verse 20 is rendered:

Rth 2:20  “The LORD bless Boaz!” Naomi replied. “He has shown that he is still loyal to the living and to the dead. Boaz is a close relative, one of those who is supposed to look after us.” (CEV)

Boaz, who represents our Lord Jesus, is our close relative in the sense we all share the same body while He walked on earth. In addition to being a close relative, He is supposed to look after us. The scripture says that He is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters.

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren [brothers and sisters],
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given 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;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
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.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

So, how is our brother Christ looking after us? The verses we just looked at give details regarding how He is looking after us. As we are aware, all humanity are our Lord’s children, and He is caring for all of us in terms of providing us what we need – food, clothing and a place to sleep. But in the case of the elect, this is what He is doing in addition:

He is making His Father known to us by declaring His name unto us, His brethren. (Heb 2:12)

He is delivering us who through fear of death were held in bondage in our lifetime. (Heb 2:15)

Because He was made like us, He is serving as a merciful and faithful high priest and is reconciling us to God. (Heb 2:17)

Because He is our brother, who grew up in the same environment of suffering just like us, He is able to help us when we go through all kinds of trials or suffering. (Heb 2:18)

Oh, may we praise our Lord for the wonderful work He is doing on our behalf!!

Rth 2:21  And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

The young men here are the reapers who, according to our Lord Jesus’ parable of the tares and the wheat, are His angels or messengers of the gospel. The harvest is the end of the world.

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Thou shall keep fast by my young men means keeping in step with our brothers and sisters who are laboring for the gospel. This is telling us that we should not refuse our Lord who is speaking through our brethren. Doing so will disqualify us of the reward.

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Rth 2:22  And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.
Rth 2:23  So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.

Naomi’s suggestion to Ruth that it is good going out with the maidens means we should not neglect fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters of the same mind.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 

Belonging to a physical church of this world is meeting in a field that does not belong to Boaz or our Lord. That is what we call Babylon, of which we are admonished by the Lord to leave.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Ruth, who represents the elect, kept pace with the reapers and was also in the company of the maidens in Boaz’s field until the end of the harvest. Dwelling with the mother-in-law is the same as keeping the company of the maidens in Boaz’s field. This is to tell us that we must keep feeding on the word of God until the end of the harvest, which by that time, everything belonging to the world within us has been destroyed. That is the time of our departure from this present world!! May the Lord grant us the grace to endure to the end of the world as we focus on His words which is able to give us an inheritance. Amen!!

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 39 Discussion

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Isa 8:11-15 He Shall Be For A Rock o​f Offence To Both The Houses ​of Israel

Isa 8:11  For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
Isa 8:12  Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
Isa 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Isa 8:14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isa 8:15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

The one thing we should have seen by now is that everything done by every evil king of Israel or any of the kings of Judah is that everything any of them did, they did it simply because that was what the Lord Himself had written in their book "before the world began (Psa 139:16, Pro 16:4; Isa 63:17, Eph 1:11).

Daniel 4 and Matthew 24 tell us that Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth and Ephesians 1:11 confirms that at this very moment He is working all that is taking place in the kingdoms of men "after the counsel of His own will".

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

If that is true, then we really need to cast our lot in with the man who has been given "all power... in heaven and in earth" regardless of the appearances of power and influence which appear to be in the hands of the kingdoms of men. That was what Ahaz, a type of who we just naturally are, could not do. All Ahaz or any of us can typically see are the approaching armies of Egypt on the one side and the deep Red Sea on the other side. All we just naturally see in times of crisis are the waters that are just about to sink our ship, and we naturally think the Lord has forsaken us and does not care that we are about to be submerged in the very waves which we know He controls:

Exo 14:10  And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
Exo 14:11  And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
Exo 14:12  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

Ancient Israel typifies us (1Co 10:11) as do Christ's carnal apostles:

Luk 8:23  But as they sailed he [Christ] fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
Luk 8:24  And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

It is in these very circumstances that Ahaz, typifying each of us, was told by the Lord:

Isa 7:4  And say unto him [Ahaz], Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Typifying our old man, all Ahaz could see though was the threatening, stormy waves, and he had no faith in the God whom he knew had always delivered his ancestors from Pharaoh and from every oppressor who had ever oppressed Israel, throughout the years of the judges. Ahaz knew, or should have known, that God had always preserved his own predecessor, King David, and had always preserved those who were obedient to Him and to His laws. It is written in our book, and it must be lived out in our own way just as it happened unto King Ahaz for our admonition (1Co 10:11):

2Ch 28:16 At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.
2Ch 28:17 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.
2Ch 28:18 The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.
2Ch 28:19 For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD.

"For he made Judah naked" is translated like this in the LITV:

2Ch 28:19  For Jehovah had humbled Judah because of Ahaz the king of Israel, for he loosed immorality in Judah, and deceiving, they betrayed Jehovah.

At the very point where it should be the most obvious to us that we need the supernatural help of our heavenly Father to bring us to repentance, we instead reach out to the world and continue to dig in our heels and "transgress sore against the Lord". We do so simply because we fear men and what we physically see more than we fear God whom we cannot see with our physical eyes.

These circumstances have confronted us all, and they will do so again at the appointed time.

When our own judgment begins, our own family and friends who are not given to discern the voice of Christ sometimes disown us, just as Christ's own family and friends did not believe in Him. Such experiences are "the stormy waves" which the Lord Himself lifts up against us to show us what is still within us, or how little faith we really have.

Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.

This is what happened to Christ when His heavenly Father sent him to "receive the fruit" of His vineyard from His husbandmen (Luk 20:9-16). This is Matthew's account of how we can expect to be treated by our own friends who know us best:

Mat 13:54  And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Mat 13:55  Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 
Mat 13:56  And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
Mat 13:57  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

Luke tells us more specifically just how "offended in Him" they were, and in telling us this, He is also telling us what we must expect of our own friends who know us best:

Luk 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luk 4:22  And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
Luk 4:23  And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

Unlike Ahaz and us, when all this happened here is this same fourth chapter, Christ had just been tempted by the adversary and had not succumbed to the pressures of this life. He had even been offered the very real promise of honor and riches in this age if only he would renounce the pain and shame of the cross (Luke 4:1-13).

Luk 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luk 4:7  If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luk 4:8  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Christ's own family did not believe in Him as the Son of God, the Lamb of God. They certainly did not, at this time, consider their brother to be the sacrifice for their sins:

Joh 7:1  And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
Joh 7:2  Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was near.
Joh 7:3  His brothers therefore said to him, Depart from here, and go into Judea so that thy disciples also may see thy works that thou do.
Joh 7:4  For no man does anything in secret, and he himself seeks to be in public. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world.
Joh 7:5 For not even his brothers believed in him. (ACV)

Our calling is not for the faint of heart. It is of Christ's own family that we are told: "not even his brothers believed on Him... If you do these things, show yourself to the world". Such pressure from those who are our closest associates and family members is enough to dissuade most, and that is why we are told:

Isa 8:11  For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
Isa 8:12  Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
Isa 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 

The Lord speaks to us 'with a strong hand and instructs us' not to cave in to the pressures that come from our families, our friends and from the societies in which we live. This does not mean that He turns up the volume and shouts at us. What "with a strong hand" means is that He turns up the fire, and brings us to understand clearly that disobedience simply does not pay. Christ felt the exact same pressure from His own family to deny His calling and to fit in with the religion of His family and the society of His day, to which you and I are subjected, "each in his own order" (1Co 15:23). All He would have had to have done was to quit breaking the sabbath and stop telling the people whom He healed to break the sabbath and stop saying God was His Father, and just fit in with the Jewish religion into which He was born.

Like most of us, Christ was born into a religious family and into a religious society. It is our family, our friends and our societies which are confederated against Christ and His doctrines. It is our families, friends and the society into which we are born, whom we just naturally tend to fear and whom we want to please, far more than we fear or want to please Christ. That is why we must be admonished "...neither fear you their fear, nor be afraid".

The whole fearful and terrified life of Ahaz and Judah "happened to them as types of us and for our admonition". If Ahaz had just remained faithful and had put his trust in the God of his fathers, when the Philistines, the Edomites, the Syrians and Israel invaded Judah, he would never have been conquered by the king of Assyria. But that kind of faith only comes with a life of righteousness, and neither Ahaz nor Judah, nor any of us, are righteous to begin with. That is why we are plainly told:

1Co 10:11 Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained. (CLV)

This is not hidden from us. We are told that we will first 'stumble and be offended' at Christ:

Isa 8:14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isa 8:15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

Concerning these two verses, it is our Savior Himself who informs us:

Luk 4:4  And Jesus answered him [Satan], saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Judah and Jerusalem, Israel and Samaria, Syria and Damascus, as well as all of mankind, must first  come to see themselves as the "marred vessel" which we all first are, before we will ever even begin to "know the day of [our] visitation", which is the beginning of our judgment and the fiery trials  which are that 'judgment'. (Jer 18:4; 1Pe 4:17)

Luk 19:44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Those who are blessed to know the time of their visitation are those who being judged at this time. It is few indeed who even know the Truth of these verses of scripture:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The 'fire' of verse 12 is the same 'fire' that burns up the tares in this verse:

Mat 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

This 'fire' burns up the tares "in the time of harvest". "The time of  harvest" is the harvest of souls, and the fire is what torments Christ's enemies and destroys all the wood, hay and stubble, and all the briars and thorns which symbolize the lies, the false doctrines and the sinful fruits of all those lies. It is the same fire at work in these verses:

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

This 'fire' is not literal 'fire'. We are twice told that it has never entered God's mind to burn anyone forever in literal physical flames of fire:

Jer 19:5  They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

Jer 32:35  And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

In every case, the 'fire' of the Lord is exactly what the Word of God tells us it is.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

"The fire [of God] will try every man's works" (1Co 3:13), and we are also told:

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

The Word of God is the fire which will judge all men of all time.

These verses prophesied of the process which is that judgment which come upon 'every man, each in his own order'.

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. 
Hos 11:3  I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. 
Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
Hos 11:6  And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
Hos 11:7  And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.

Just as Job's three miserable comforters were all fellow Edomites, so, too, "Ephraim", who is also referred to as "Israel", those closest to Judah, was a thorn in the side of Judah and vice versa. So it is with us. Christ has been very up front with us in informing us of what we are to expect if we are granted to be His disciples, to rule with Him here in this age and to judge angels for Him in the coming 'lake of fire' after the thousand-year reign (1Co 6:2-3, Rev 20:11-15). Here is how we begin to experience the Lord's judgment which is now upon the house of God (1Pe 4:17). This is the exact same message given to Isaiah.

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. ["Perilous times" - 2Ti 3:1]
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 
Mat 10:19  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. [Eph 3:10 - Through the church]
Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

As in Isaiah and throughout scripture, Christ again tells us not to fear men:

Mat 10:26  Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
Mat 10:27  What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 
Mat 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 
Mat 10:29  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
Mat 10:30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Mat 10:32  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Contrary to what our captors in Babylon tell us, this is the truth of what Christ came to do within our lives:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 

Matthew 10 speaks of the judgment which must begin at the house of God as spoken by apostle Peter above. (1Pe 4:17)

Now we know who the Lord included when He tells us:

Isa 8:12  Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 
Isa 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 
Isa 8:14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isa 8:15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

Isaiah is quoting a prophecy of Christ in the book of Psalms:

Psa 118:22  The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Head of the Corner.
Psa 118:23  This is from Jehovah, it is marvelous in our eyes.

Christ knew that Psa 118:22-23, and Isa 8:14 was a prophecy of His coming to His own people and the hateful rejection with which He would be received and with which He and His Christ are received to this very day:

Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Peter repeats both of these prophecies to those in His charge:

1Pe 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, [Psa 118:22-23]
1Pe 2:8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. [Isa 8:14]

Christ, Paul, Peter and John all knew that what we do to Christ's body is being done to Christ Himself:

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Act 22:8  And I [Paul] answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

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.

Christ is His Word (Joh 1:1), and it is His words, including His words here in Matthew 10, which cause us all to first stumble and fall and be broken. How many in this age are willing to be hated by their closest family members and friends for the sake of remaining faithful to the words of Christ? It takes Christ Himself living His life within us to bring us to repent of the slavery to our flesh and of the fear of men, and to live a life worthy of His name. Fortunately for us that is exactly what we have been given.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [Christ, verse 6] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Yet even God's elect must stumble and fall and be broken and snared and taken, before they rise again in victory over all the giants in their land.

Next week, Lord willing, we will be admonished to be very careful to speak only what is written and to understand that all those who speak beyond what is written have "no light in them".

Isa 8:16  Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
Isa 8:17  And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
Isa 8:19  And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Isa 8:21  And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
Isa 8:22  And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Video Links

Job 26:1 But Job answered and said,

Job 26:2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

Job 26:3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

Job 26:5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

Job 26:9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.

Job 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.

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?

Introduction

It is absolutely humiliating to look back behind us and be forced to acknowledge how very self- righteous and petty we have been. Yes, it is all the work of God, but that work of God requires that we come to loathe our old man and to ‘bear the shame’ of His nature:

Eze 16:54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Eze 36:31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

Job is the type of God’s elect, who know that all their trials come from God Himself. But like Saul of Tarsus, God’s elect are not at first “they… that are heavenly”. Rather, as Job here demonstrates, we are all first “that which is natural”. We are first carnal and petty and just as capable of finger- pointing and condemning others as anyone:

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.

The great question that is inherent in the story of Job’s trials is, why does God bless the enemies of His own people while cursing those, like Job, who appear to be less evil than those who are tormenting those who will later come to be manifest as His elect? Job has posed this question to his friends, and they all ignore the question because both they and Job are the Old Testament types of each of us, while we ourselves are first, self- righteous Job and self- righteous Saul of Tarsus. They ignore the question because neither they nor Job know the answer.

Here again is Job’s question:

Job 21:7 Why do the wicked live, become old, yea, grow mighty in power?

Job 21:8 Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes.

Job 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, nor is the rod of God upon them.

Job 21:10 Their bull breeds, and does not fail. Their cow brings forth safely, and does not miscarry.

Job 21:11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.

Job 21:12 They sing to the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.

Job 21:13 They spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment they go down to Sheol.

Job 21:14 And they say to God, Depart from us, for we do not desire 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 to him?

As we have seen, the answer to this apparent enigma is revealed to us by our Savior in His parable of the tares, in which we are all represented by a field of wheat which is owned by our Lord. That field was sown by our Lord with the seeds of His own truthful words. But an enemy comes while we are spiritually asleep and sows tares in among the wheat. When it is made manifest that the enemy has infected us with his lies, we cry out to be delivered from the bondage of those lies. But the Lord Himself restrains us from being delivered of that deceit until the time when His Truth arrives in our lives through the fiery trials of judgment, called in this parable “the time of the harvest”.

It is this “time of harvest” with which this great question of the story of Job is concerned. It is only in this “time of harvest” that the the truth of our Lord’s words can be manifested to have the fruit of the spirit, and the lies that are the tares are manifested to be lacking that fruit and can be “first… gather[ ed]… and bound in bundles to be burned”.

Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Here is another way of saying that:

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies [ tares] among you, that they which are approved [ the fruitful wheat] may be made manifest among you.

This is “the time of harvest” when our own tares are manifested to us, which we cannot detect within us until this time of our lives. Those ‘tares’ are all of our faults of which we have not yet been made aware. Those tares include all our secret sins, which include that most invisible and insidious of sins, the sin of self- righteousness. It is in “the time of harvest’ that all these sins are made manifest to us and the painful gathering together and burning of those tares begins. That is the lesson of this book of Job, and that is the story of the life of every man who will ever come to know God and His Son, whose plan and purpose this all is. Here is this same message as it appears again in the New Testament:

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [ meaning He purges us of “the tares of the field”], and scourgeth [ gathers and burns those lying tares out of our lives] every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

God is faithful and finishes His Work within us. But before He finishes that work, we are intent on blaming every tare in our field on anyone else but ourselves. After all, at this critical time in our “one event” (Ecc 9:2), it should be clear to the blindest among us that we are nowhere near as deserving of God’s wrath as those whom He has sent to torment us. And when we blame our tormentors for doing their predestined work of tormenting us, we are reproving our Lord Himself.

Job 26:1 But Job answered [ Bildad] and said,

Job 26:2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

Job 26:3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

We have heard the last of Job’s three accusers. Bildad is the last of these three “miserable comforters” to speak to Job. Zophar will forgo a third round with Job. Job will now have the floor for the next six chapters. Chapters 26-31 are all Job. He continues to acknowledge that God is all powerful, but like all of us while we are in the clutches of the tares within us and in the clutches of our own self- righteousness and self- justification, our acknowledgment of the sovereign power of God is mere lip service. Such acknowledgement is either not applied to our own will, or as only our “father the devil” can do within us, we justify our sins as God’s own sovereign will for us.

Consequently here in verses 2-3, Job is comparing Bildad with himself. He still believes with all his being that he is, of himself, a very good man who is simply being mistreated by His own Creator. As he will tell us plainly in chapter 29, Job thinks that he, of himself, has “helped him that is without power”. He has “saved the arm that had no strength”. He has counseled him that had no wisdom, and he truly believes that he has declared his own relationship with God “as it [ actually] is”. But Job is only beginning to declare his own self- righteousness, and in doing so he is revealing to us who we are and how we are guilty of reproving, contending with and condemning our own heavenly Father.

Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

Job 26:5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

In our petty, self- righteous way, we compare our own knowledge to that of our tormentors, and Job is the Old Testament type of us as he goes out of his way to make it clear to Bildad that his understanding of God is far superior to that of Bildad. Bildad has just informed Job that he, Bildad, was aware that God’s dominion extended to the heavens and to all on whom the light of the sun shined:

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?

When Job replies, “dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof [ the inhabitants of those waters]”, what Job is saying to Bildad is ‘Of course God has dominion over the heavens and the earth, but the God Job knows has dominion even over “dead things… and… hell [ Hebrew – sheol, the unseen, the grave]”.

Job is telling us that even sheol, the grave, is not beyond God’s judging hand. It is significant for us to note that when we read that “dead things are formed [ Hebrew – chul, or chiyl] from under the waters…” that word translated ‘formed’ is much more often translated in some form which carries with it the concept of ‘pain’ or even ‘writhing in pain’, as in this verse in Isaiah…

Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

Isa 13:7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:

Isa 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain [ chul, 2342] as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

… and in these verses:

Jer 5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble [ Hebrew – chul, H2342] at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

Jer 23:19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous [ Hebrew, chul, H2342] whirlwind: it shall fall grievously [ H2342] upon the head of the wicked.

When Job tells Bildad “Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering”, this is Job’s message to Bildad as we find it the book of Isaiah:

Isa 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee [ the king of Babylon] to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the [ dead] kings of the nations.

Isa 14:10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

Isa 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Here is the message of Job 26:5 in the New Testament:

Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

What Job is doing in this answer to Bildad is repeating what he had said in chapter 19:

Job 19:25 But as for me I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand up upon the earth.

Job 19:26 And after my skin, this [ body], is destroyed, then outside my flesh I shall see God,

Job 19:27 whom I, even I, shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me.

Job is one of the earliest books in scripture to speak of a future resurrection of the dead. Isaiah is also very plain in stating this doctrine:

Isa 26:18 We have been with child, we have been in pain [ Hebrew – chul H2342], we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

Isa 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise “a spiritual body” [1Co 15:44]. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

The fact that there is a resurrection and that the dead are not beyond the dominion of God, is Job’s message to us and to Bildad. He now proceeds to elaborate on that same dominion and power:

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

The phrase “empty place” is translated from the Hebrew word ‘tohu’, which is the same word we find in these two verses:

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form[ H8414 – tohu], and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Jer 4:20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.

Jer 4:21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Jer 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form [ H8414 – tohu], and void; and the heavens, and they had no light, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

So the messages of Gen 1:2 and Jer 4:23, as well as this verse of Job 26:7, are all the same. God is working through a process which is not yet complete, is yet being formed, and is a process which requires each of us to be brought to the word ‘north’ in scripture which always denotes impending judgment upon God’s sinning and backslidden people. Being backslidden is the “deadly wound” (Rev 13:3), common to us all when we first begin to see our need for a Savior. But it is also common to us all for that “deadly wound” to be healed and bring us all back to being a very healthy beast which is now “twofold more the child of hell” than our leaders who “caused [ us] to err”.

Isa 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

“The earth” in scripture is God own people; His “tents”, and His “curtains”, which He now declares to be “without form and void”, because “they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” They are “foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children”. This is the same message we were being given in Job 26:7

Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

“Waters” in scripture are the type both of God’s Word, flowing from the bellies of His elect, but ‘waters’ are also the people on whom the great harlot sits, committing fornication with the kings of the ‘earth’ by teaching them the lies that are Babylon’s doctrines.

When God’s waters are “bound up”, then the nourishment of those waters of His truths are withheld from God’s people, as they were during the days of the prophecy of God’s witnesses, as typified by the drought of Elijah’s day, and the prophecies of the two witnesses.

1Ki 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

2Ch 6:26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

“When the heaven is shut up and there is no rain, [ it is] because [ we] have sinned against [ our Lord]”. Under such conditions God does not reveal himself:

Job 26:9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.

“His cloud” is very dark to all who do not know Him. “He holds back the face [ the knowledge] of His throne”:

Exo 14:19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

These same ‘waters’ are the symbol of the proud waves of human flesh which is the carnal mind which is held in check by God Himself:

Job 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.

“His hand has formed the crooked serpent” as well as having “garnished the heavens” of our minds by giving us the knowledge of Him and His ways. Job is the type of God’s elect. This is revealed to us through Job’s repentance of His own self- righteousness, and Job being granted to be the channel by which God accepts Job’s friends.

Before we simply acknowledge that every word Job utters here concerning God’s dominion, is true, it is imperative that we be made aware of the facts surrounding the translation of the two words ‘formed’, and the word ‘crooked’ in verse 13.

The Hebrew word translated ‘formed in the King James Version is ‘chalal’, H2490. Here is how this word is defined by Strong’s:

H2490

cha lal

khaw- lal’

A primitive root (compare H2470); properly to bore, that is, (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one’s word), to begin (as if by an opening- wedge); denominatively (from H2485) to play (the flute): – begin (X men began), defile, X break, defile, X eat (as common things), X first, X gather the grape thereof, X take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.

Here now are the English entries given for the translation of this Hebrew word ‘chalal’:

H2490

cha lal

Total KJV Occurrences: 143

[ Corrected to read:] The KJV + has the wrong word listed for “formed”.

KJV + says it is : H2490

While the KJV + TVM, Blue Letter Bible, and Bible Study Tools. com all say it is: H2342

The best translation is “His hand has travailed the fleeing serpent”. As you look through all of the uses of this word it’s about causing pain and anguish, especially in childbirth.

Isa 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain (H2342) as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

Isa 26:17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain (H2342), and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

Isa 66:7 Before she travailed (H2342), she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

The word “before” is not in the original Hebrew. Here is a better translation.

Isa 66:7 CLV Ere she is travailing, she bears. Ere a cramp is coming to her, then she causes the escape of a male.”

Deu 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish (H2342) because of thee.

Deu 32:18 Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have forgotten the God who fathered (H2342) you.

This mistake in the KJV+ does not effect our understanding of doctrine, but it is good to be accurate in our studies and pay attention to these details as you have taught me. This verse really makes Job 26:13 quite clear:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen (H2342) in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. [ Thanks go to Mitch for discovering the error in Strong’s which numbers the word ‘formed’ H2490 instead of H2342 as KJV+ TVM, Blue Letter Bible and Bible Study Tools. com all have it.]

Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

The other most common translation is some form of the word ‘began’. While this may seem very confusing at first glance, it becomes much more understandable when it is noticed what it is that we are being told is beginning. Here are just a couple of examples:

Num 25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began [ Hebrew, chalal] to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

2Ki 10:32 In those days the LORD began [ Hebrew, chalal] to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;

Sometimes this word is used of Israel, and sometimes it is used of Israel’s enemies, but in either case it is used to inform us of an evil ‘profaning’ event which is about to take place against either Israel or by Israel against her enemies.

Now let’s look at the Hebrew word translated ‘crooked’ in Job 26:13. It is the Hebrew word ‘bariach’, Strong’s H1281.

H1281

ba r yach  ba riach

baw- ree’- akh, baw- ree’- akh

From H1272; a fugitive, that is, the serpent (as fleeing), and the constellation by that name: – crooked, noble, piercing.

Here are the only three places in the Old Testament where this word appears, and here is how it is translated in those three instances:

H1281

/

ba r yach  /  ba riach

Total KJV Occurrences: 3

crooked, 1

Job_26:13

nobles, 1

Isa_43:13-14 (2)

piercing, 1

Isa_27:1

So it is translated with three entirely different English words. How very confusing. But notice that this Hebrew word ‘bariach’ is “From H1272; a fugitive, that is, the serpent (as fleeing)…” So we need to look up this word H1272, and see what it is and how it is translated. So here is the Hebrew word which has been assigned Strong’s number H1272:

ba rach

baw- rakh’

A primitive root; to bolt, that is, figuratively to flee suddenly: – chase (away); drive away, fain, flee (away), put to flight, make haste, reach, run away, shoot.

We discover that this is “A primitive root” meaning “to bolt, that is, figuratively to flee suddenly”. In the case of this word the English translations are far more consistent. Here is where this word appears in the Old Testament:

H1272

ba rach

Total KJV Occurrences: 67

fled, 40

Gen_16:6, Gen_31:20-22 (3), Gen_35:7, Exo_2:15, Exo_14:5, Jdg_9:21, Jdg_11:3, 1Sa_19:12, 1Sa_19:18, 1Sa_20:1, 1Sa_21:10, 1Sa_22:17, 1Sa_22:20, 1Sa_23:6, 1Sa_27:4, 2Sa_4:3, 2Sa_13:34, 2Sa_13:37-38 (2), 2Sa_19:9, 2Sa_23:11, 1Ki_2:7, 1Ki_11:17, 1Ki_11:23, 1Ki_11:40, 1Ki_12:2, 2Ch_10:2, Neh_13:10, Psa_57:1 (2), Isa_22:3, Jer_26:21, Jer_39:4, Dan_10:7 (2), Hos_12:12, Jon_1:10, Jon_4:2

flee, 15

Gen_16:8, Gen_27:43, Gen_31:27, Num_24:11, 2Sa_15:14, Neh_6:11, Job_9:25, Job_20:24, Job_27:22, Job_41:28, Psa_139:7, Isa_48:20, Jer_4:29, Amo_7:12, Jon_1:3

away, 1

1Ch_8:13

chased, 1

Neh_13:28

chaseth, 1

Pro_19:26

drove, 1

1Ch_8:13

fain, 1

Job_27:22

fleddest, 1

Gen_35:1

fleeth, 1

Job_14:1-2 (2)

flight, 1

1Ch_12:15

haste, 1

Son_8:14

ran, 1

1Ki_2:39

reach, 1

Exo_26:28

shoot, 1

Exo_36:33

This is the root of the word translated ‘crooked’ in Job 26:13. It appears 67 times in the Old Testament and it is consistently translated with some form of the words ‘fled’ or ‘flee’, and those which are otherwise also carry that same thought.

So then, how should Job 26:13 be translated? It appears that it should read “… His hand has travailed the fleeing serpent”. Nevertheless, after all of our work to better understand what the holy spirit is saying, we still must conclude that it is God who creates evil, and it is His hand which formed Satan, who is simply His instrument for facilitating that evil:

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

God’s elect know that Satan, the adversary, is not the result of a rebellious act originating in Satan’s fabled ‘free will’, but he is rather the result of the fact that God’s spirit and His own hand has garnished our heavens with the understanding that “His [ God’s own] hand has profaned the fleeing serpent… that old serpent the devil, and Satan [ who] deceives the whole world”. There is no battle between God and Satan at all. The battle in the heavens is within the hearts and minds of God’s elect, and ends with Satan’s expulsion from our heavens.

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Lest we fall for the false doctrine that the kings of Babylon (Isa 14) or the king of Tyre (Eze 28), are Satan, just because both of these kings “say in [ their] heart” that they are God”, that therefore those two chapters refer to Satan, and that those two chapters prove that Satan is not part of God’s own predestined creation, we are also given this second witness to the Truth of Job 26:13:

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.

If indeed, “the invisible things of God are understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and God head” (Rom 1:20), the this verse should make it super clear that God has indeed made Satan for just exactly the service He has performed for God in taking away all of Job’s children and all of his earthly possessions, then stopping at that point exactly as the Lord so orders and then smiting Job with boils from his head to his feet, but not taking Job’s life, exactly as God so orders Satan:

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

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

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.

Notice what is revealed to be God’s “hand”. It is Satan, that “crooked serpent”, who is God’s “hand”, by which God first takes away all of Job’s children, and his possessions, and then again, just a little later, it is Satan by whom God afflicts Job with boils from his head to his feet.

While all of this is apparently revealed to Job, after the fact, and is “written for our admonition” (1Co 10:11), it is evident from Job’s words in verse 14, that Job understands only “parts of His ways”.

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?

So, as we will soon see, Job is just getting warmed up at declaring to us and to His own Creator just how good and righteous a man He is. Job does not “know God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent” (Joh 17:3). Not yet knowing God and His Son, Job confesses “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?”

What is the New Testament answer to Job’s question? The apostle Paul acknowledges the Truth of this statement in the New Testament:

1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Let’s put these words together with Job’s words: “How little portion is heard of Him… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”.

Here is what “the sea” symbolizes, and this is how God deals with the “proud waves” of this carnal symbol:

Job 38:8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

Job 38:9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

Job 38:10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

Job 38:11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

God tells us that our carnal will has “for it My decreed place, and set bars and doors”. Here is how this message is delivered to us in the book of Proverbs:

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

Pro 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

Being “proud in heart” is the “proud waves” of the sea of our human minds and hearts, out of which we all become the beast of scripture which is indeed enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God and cannot be subject to 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.

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.

So the symbolism of “divid[ ing] the sea with His power” is the same as “by His understanding… smit[ ing] through the proud” [Job 26:12].

What Job is telling Bildad and us is that his God has dominion even over all evil, symbolized by the proud waves of the sea” (Job 38:11). What Job is telling Bildad and us is that God has indeed made all things, good and evil, for Himself and His purposes, which will never be altered or added to or taken from:

Ecc 3:14 I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do fear before Him. (YLT)

Through Job God is telling us that He is “the Father of spirits” good and bad:

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?

“His hand has formed the crooked serpent” as well as “garnishing the heavens” with our knowledge of Him and His ways. Job is the type of God’s elect. This is revealed to us through Job’s repentance of His own self- righteousness. But as yet Job is just getting warmed up at declaring to us and to His own Creator just how good and righteous a man He is. Job does not “know God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent” (Joh 17:3). Not yet knowing God and His Son, Job makes the statement “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?”

The apostle Paul makes this same statement in the New Testament:

1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

“How little portion is heard of Him… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”.

But while this world always stops at verse 9, verse 10 is still there in plain view for all who have been granted eyes to see this verse:

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

How is this done? Our Lord Himself reveals to us:

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Those to whom “My Father” has revealed “all things, yes the deep things of God”, have been shown that “My Father” reveals “the deep things of the spirit” by the “apostles, prophets, and teachers” He has placed within His own body:

1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will continue to hear Job condemning his own Creator, while declaring his own integrity and his own righteousness in these verses:

Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

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.

Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

Job 27:9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

Job 27:10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

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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?

Introduction

This 25th chapter is Bildad’s third round in his self- righteous attempt to help Job to see just how evil a man Job is. Job’s self- righteousness is apparently more than sufficient to soak up Bildad’s false accusations. What you and I need to keep in mind as we come to see all these men in the scriptures, is that Job and Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar are all to be found in our own Adamic flesh, and their words and actions are within all flesh, including our flesh, and not just in any one generation past, present or future.

Ecc 3:14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God does it so that they fear before Him.

Ecc 3:15 That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires that which is past.

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 one glory in men. For all things are yours,

1Co 3:22 whether it is Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours

“Whatever God does… every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God… the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours”. This must surely include the prosperity of the wicked which so perplexes Job and his accusers.

Bildad makes no attempt at all to deal with the question Job puts before him when he asks why God blesses the wicked while chastening His own people. So, just as we all do, Bildad simply ignores what he cannot answer and goes on to other things.

Job himself ignores all the crushing trials God has placed upon him and continues declaring his own righteousness as if he were above reproach.

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.

We have seen that the story of how God blesses Ishmael and causes both him and Esau to become “great nations” explains what God is doing with Job. We saw how God caused Israel’s enemies to prosper and become great kingdoms long before He begins to prosper His elect, even though they are both archenemies of Isaac, who is the type of His very elect.

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

We saw this principle of God first blessing the natural wicked old man within us, while chastening the new man within us, to be God’s own signature in dealing with His elect, and we saw that this principle was revealed to us in these verses of Genesis:

Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

What the symbolism of these verses tell us is that our sins and self- righteousness prosper and are blessed first in our lives. This explains why God blesses the evil, self- righteous, carnal- minded man within us before He blesses our new man. We saw that the wicked flourish first for the very purpose of being destroyed first within us:

Psa 92:7 When the wicked [ man within] spring[ s up] as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

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.

Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

2Th 2:4 Who [ our self- righteous, carnal- minded old man] opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

We cannot change this order because it is ordained by God and is “written in His book” for all men of all time.

This is the principle our Lord revealed to us in “the parable of the tares”. In that parable the Lord of the field would not permit His laborers to gather the tares or to take them out from among the wheat “until the harvest”. At the time of the harvest the workers are instructed “gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

A brother who is friends with wheat farmers told me that a farmer explained to him that in the time of the harvest, the fruit of the wheat causes the wheat to bow down with the weight of the fruit it has brought forth, but the tares have no such burden and like self- righteous Job, they stand up straight and tall, reproving, contending with and condemning their own husbandman, or in Job and in our case, our own Creator. The Lord’s true servants have no trouble discerning who has the fruit and who doesn’t:

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Paul knew all about this principle of God’s working in the lives of all men. Here is how Paul expresses the principle of Gen 17:20:

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 [ Ishmael in type] which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual [ Isaac in type].

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.

We are one and all “earthy” before any of us will “bear the image of the heavenly”. The order cannot be reversed. The “earthy” will be first, and the earthy elect will be the first to be judged.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Solomon tells us that the way God works is always the same and cannot be changed. Let’s look at it again:

Ecc 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever [ Hebrew, olawm, age]: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

But neither Job nor his accusers understand what God is doing. They all think they know God, but at the same time they all admit that they do not know God or His ways. In his last exchange with Job, Bildad asked Job:

Job 18:3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?

Now in this chapter, He asks a different question which makes it appear that he now agrees with Job that he is indeed vile, and that men are all vile by nature:

Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

What this demonstrates is the confusion that is Babylon within us all. Bildad does not see the contradiction which he and his friends are. Bildad, Eliphaz, Zophar and Job are all the the Old Testament type of you and me while we are in the confusion and contradictions which are “the mother of harlot”, Babylon (Rev 17:5). We are still in Babylon when our judgment begins. While unfaithful Babylon is still within us, we are self- righteously disobeying and condemning our heavenly husband even as we commit spiritual fornication against Him.

This is a pivotal point in our walk:

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

Rev 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Like an unfaithful wife who refuses to be ashamed, we defend the self- righteous beast we are with our own dying breath:

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’s and our own self- righteousness is the most insidious of all forms of spiritual fornication. Like a whore who refuses to be ashamed, we don’t even acknowledge our own spiritual fornication.

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.

We actually think in our self- righteousness that we are somehow better than other men. But just as a harlot cannot know peace of mind even as she denies her own obvious condemnation, this is the quandary in which we as the church at Laodicea finds ourselves, and that is why Bildad has so little to say here in his last opportunity to condemn his friend, Job.

Bildad is also forced to acknowledge, as Job himself later confesses, that all men are vile by nature. This chapter is only six verses long and is summarized by Bildad’s admission of God’s sovereign dominion and his question “How… can a man be justified with God or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?”

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.

Having no answer for Job’s question which confronts God’s ways in blessing the wicked while chastening his elect, Bildad chooses instead to dwell upon the obvious fact that God does indeed have dominion, and that we need to fear Him.

What exactly is the extent of that “dominion”? How far does God’s dominion extend? Does it extend to all of His creation? Here is what Job Himself tells us:

Job 9:5 Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

Job 9:6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

Job 9:7 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

Job 9:8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

Job 9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

Job 9:10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

Does it extend to the very thoughts of men before those thoughts are even conceived? What do the scriptures tell us?

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear know that “the mountains… the earth… the sun” and all things physical, carry with them an inward, spiritual significance. The earth and all the things upon the earth, are symbols of our physical lives, while the sun, the moon, and the stars, are all symbols of those things which inhabit the powers and principalities of our hearts and our minds. It is here in our heavens that the great battles of scripture are all waged, and that is exactly what the scriptures tell us:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [ Greek, the heavens].

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

So yes, God is sovereign over all things in heaven and in earth. He is sovereign over both our thoughts and our actions. It is He who tells us:

Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Pro 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy way s, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

So just how far does God’s sovereignty extend? Here is Christ’s own answer:

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Does Joh 15:5 tell us that if we do not “abide in Him” that we are therefore free to do as we please? Is that what that verse said? Hardly! This is the truth of the extent of God’s sovereignty:

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Rom 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

In other words:

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

That is the extent of God’s sovereignty. It is total and complete, with no exceptions, good or evil:

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

Even the wicked are made by God, not of themselves. God makes the evil in all of us “for the day of evil” within us all.

Job 25:3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?

Here is the scripture that comes closest to placing a number upon God’s spiritual hosts:

Rev 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

So if there is a number to be placed upon the heavenly hosts, God is keeping it a secret from us. This phrase “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of thousands” just serves to indicate that the answer to Bildad’s question is that there is no one upon whom his light does not shine. His Sun “rises on the evil and on the good”:

Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

All of this being so:

Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

Bildad is asking the same question Job himself has already asked, in the same ninth chapter which we have quoted above:

Job 9:2 I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

Job 9:3 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

Job 9:4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

Bildad points out the fact that even the stars, “the heavens themselves… Are not pure in His sight”.

Job 25:5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.

Again the heavens, and all in the heavens, are the Biblical type of our hearts and minds:

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [ the blood of calves and goats, verse 19]; but the heavenly things themselves [ The hearts and minds of mankind] with better sacrifices than these.

Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

“The heavens themselves” are indeed in need of being purified. “The stars are not pure in his sight”.

The fact that Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Job, can see that “man… is a worm”, and yet they can, with the same breath, mouth and tongue utter words which demonstrate that they consider themselves to be above such a lowly condition, demonstrates the self- righteous confusion within us which is the hallmark of the confusion which is Babylon. But such is the depth of our own inward self- righteousness. We are so convinced of our own righteousness that even as we confess that we are but worms, at the same time we are capable of looking down on our fellow worms and condemning them for thinking that man can be justified before God.

Job 25:6 How much less [ than the stars of heaven] man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

If man in a body of carnal flesh is a worm, what becomes of him in that condition? We have been told that God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. Nowhere in scripture are we told that God loves sinners. We are told that He loves the world and will give life to all who are in Adam, “the vessel of clay” who is the ultimate type of the sinners we all are.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

What the scriptures actually teach, and what we are told, is that the sinner himself is our carnal- minded old man who, in such a state, is condemned and will be destroyed and that it is through his death and his destruction that God’s love of the world is proven, and a new man will be created and saved.

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

So that is what happens to the sinner we all are by nature. That is what happens to the “worm” we all are by nature. Our “old man… the first man Adam” must die in Adam, and via that dying process, be changed into “the new man… the last Adam”.

Here is how Christ expresses what He is in the process of doing with His creatures:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Like the worm that becomes a beautiful butterfly, we must give up the life of our old man and through a resurrection from the dead, “be transformed into the image of… the last Adam”.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We live by all of these words (Mat 4:4). The “loss” of 1Co 3:15, which we all suffer is the destruction of the old man who has “defiled the temple of God” as we all, by our very nature, have done.

What it all means is that our old sinful bodies of flesh were, by God’s own design, created in a marred condition while yet in the Potter’s hand, and that “marred”, old sinful man was never intended to inherit the kingdom of God, but has, from the beginning, been slated for destruction and death out of which a new transformed man is to be born.

It is all explained in this same epistle to the church at Corinth:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam [ the sinner, our old man] was made a living soul; the last Adam [ Christ in us the hope of glory] 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 A nd as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall [ through the destruction of the earthy] 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.

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

This is the fate of “the earthy”, and this is the fate of “they also that are heavenly”. Yes, God loved us “while we were yet in sin”.

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, ( by grace ye are saved

Are the words “for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins”, actually telling us that “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin”? No, nowhere are we told that God loves sinners. What we are told is that our old sinful man will be destroyed.

1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

If He loved sinners, He would keep them as sinners. What God does love is what He is in the process of doing with sinners, in “transforming” them into perfected images of His Son, “by the renewing of [ our] mind”.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy [ the sinner], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly [ the righteous man]

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Neither Bildad nor Job yet know or understand anything at all of this process God is working within us. All they can see at this point is that “the son of man… is a worm”.

This is the last we will be hearing from any of these three “miserable comforters”. Job now has the stage for the next six chapters, chapters 26-31. As we will see, his pride and self- righteousness are completely intact, and he is now free to proclaim his own righteousness and to condemn his Creator for the way he is being treated.

Here are our verses for next week’s study:

Job 26:1 But Job answered and said,

Job 26:2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

Job 26:3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

Job 26:5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

Job 26:9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.

Job 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.

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?

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Job 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

Job 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

Job 24:18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Job 24:20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

Job 24:21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

Job 24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

Job 24:23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Introduction

In our last study Job, the Old Testament type of us while we are being judged, was still attempting to understand the principle revealed in “the parable of the tares of the field”.

Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

We saw that “the time of harvest” is the same as “the day of the Lord” which is the judgment which comes first upon the house of God.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The burning of the tares “first” is the judgment which begins at the house of God. In fact Peter calls this day of judgment which must “first begin at us” a time of “fiery trial which is to try [ us].”

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

So ‘trials’ and ‘judgment’ are the same in the scriptures just as they are in the natural realm. All legal trials are held before a judge, whose charge is to seek and reveal the Truth. In doing so, it is incumbent upon the guilty to “give an accounting” of what he has done. Then it is the charge of every righteous judge to render his judgment which is intended to make things right which have not been right.

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Job is the Old Testament type of us as God’s elect. But the story of Job begins while God’s elect are still in Babylon, being physically blessed while under the strong delusion of such false doctrines as the prosperity gospel, and while we are still under the blinders of our own self- righteousness, just before our judgment begins.

Here is Job while he is “at ease in Zion” (Amo 6:1).

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

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.

Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Job 1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Just like those who are “at ease in Zion”, as Job we “put far away the evil day [ thereby] causing the seat of violence to come near”.

Amo 6:3 Ye [ Job, the type of you and me] that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

We all strive to become comfortable in this life, before we seek to be judged by our Creator.

Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

What Job reveals to us of ourselves is that we just naturally fear the day of judgment, and we just naturally “put far away the evil day”. In doing so we “treasure up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God“.

Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

The message of this book of Job is an expanded version of the judgment of Babylon within us which is mentioned in the last of the seven plagues:

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Rev 14 has already informed us that this “cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath” is “the hour of His judgment… [ it is] the fall of Babylon… [ it is] the smoke of [ our] torment”, and then this same chapter informs us that all of this comprises “the patience of the saints, [ and] the keeping of the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”. Let’s read those verses and understand what we are reading:

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

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.

“Her fornication” is the occasion which God is seeking to pour out on Babylon within us, “the wrath of God”. So “the wrath of God” and “the wrath of her fornication” are one and the same, as is made clear in the seventh plague of Rev 16:19:

Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [“the wrath of her fornication”]

The last part of Rev 14 informs us that all of this takes place at “the [ time of the] harvest of the earth”.

Rev 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

Rev 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

Rev 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

Rev 14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

So now we know that the harvest, the burning of the tares, the separating of the sheep from the goats, the wrath of God on Job (in type) and on us (in spiritual reality), and the day of the Lord, are one and all the “day of judgment” and “the patience of the saints… and the faith of Jesus” (Rev 14:12) which must come upon all men of all time, “each in his own order… beginning first at the house of God” (1Co 15:23, 1Pe 4:17, Mat 4:4, 1Co 3:21-22, and Rev 1:3).

This is the principle revealed to us in the parable of the tares which we, as Job, could not understand at that time in our walk. So we, as Job, ask why God would not lay folly to those who were so guilty of that folly. Not only do we ask why God does “not lay folly to them”, we also ask why he even goes as far as to bless that folly and those men of such foolishness, while cursing our old man.

Job actually answers his own question, but because he is incapable of applying his answer to himself, his great knowledge just puffs him up and is of no personal application or value. After all, Job is a man of great integrity in his own mind.

Here is his own answer to the reason God is blessing Job’s enemies while cursing Job:

Job 24:23 Though it be given him [“the sinner” vs. 19] to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his [ God’s] eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while [ the sinner], but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

This has great personal application for us all because:

Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Job’s entire experience reveals to us that we are first very offended with God’s ways and His way of thinking. Here is what God Himself tells us about our own natural way of thinking:

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Eze 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Has God given us, like King David, to see that ‘We are the man’ who has done all these things?

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God [ God’s chastening] leadeth thee [ that would be me and you] to repentance?

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;[“The sword shall not depart from [ our] house”]

Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

But as typified by Job, we see none of these spiritual truths, and we simply do not yet “know God or His Son”. Consequently we do not yet know what “life eternal” is.

Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

Job 23:8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

Job 23:9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

But until that day of coming to know God arrives, as it is written in our book, we continue to complain to God of His unequal ways (Eze 18:25), and for treating us as if we were sinners.

Job 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

The previous verse told us that the wicked despise the light of day:

Job 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

“The light” exposes the murderer and the thief for what they are. So “they… rebel against the light”. “They” are of their father the devil, and it is His works which they will do. It is always first “they”, and at first it is never you or me.

So what does this “thief” do?

Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

“The thief” who is first [ our] “father the devil”, is not capable of revealing our beastly nature to us, and he has no desire to have us to “suffer loss” so we can be “saved… by fire”, which is the very purpose and function of this whole story of Job.

Instead this is what our self- righteousness produces within us:

Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

This is the perfect description of what we, as typified by King David’s adultery and murder, have done within our own lives, when we question “the goodness” of our Lord which “leads [ us] to repentance”. King David “waited for the twilight, saying, No man shall see me”, and when he was doing that he “knew not the light”, all the while considering himself to be the king and the representative of that light. Job’s self- righteousness has within us the very same end. We “reprove, contend with, and condemn” God (Job 40:1-8). This is what Job, the type of our own “old man” does:

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God [Psa 107:21-31] leadeth thee to repentance?

It is God who has made us to err and hardened our hearts from His fear (Isa 63:17), yet we are not even aware of what we are doing. It is actually in our Job- like self- righteousness that we, like King David, act like this:

Job 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

“If one know them” refers to the murderer, the thief, and the adulterer of verses 14-15. It was God’s own people who killed Uriah and Christ. In other words, it is you and me who have done that. It is we who have been the murderer, the thief and the adulterer, and God is justified when He judges us and determines that our old man is not worthy of life, but his destruction is the fit channel through which our new man will be born. Christ knew the murderer, the thief and the adulterer within us all, and indeed He was “in the terrors of the shadow of death”.

Here is how the holy spirit describes what “the terrors of the shadow of death” worked within Christ:

Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Here is Luke’s version of Christ while He was “in the terrors of the shadow of death”:

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, as the Old Testament type of us, continues to lament the unimpeded blessings of the wicked. At the very same time, he is granted to understand that those blessings of the wickedness we commit in this life are temporal, while our future destruction is just as certain as our present blessings, and that destruction is permanent.

Psa 92:6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

Psa 92:7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

Here is the fulfilling of that principle of letting the tares grow with the wheat “until the time of the harvest”, at which time, the tares are gathered first and are cast into the fire to be burned.

Job 24:18 He [ the wicked, our old man] is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Job 24:20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

“He is swift as the waters” refers back to the murderer, the thief, and the adulterer of verses 14 and 15. “He knows not the way of the vineyards”, alludes to the fact that the murderer, the thief and the adulterer within us preys upon the efforts of others who labor to bring forth fruit.

“The drought and heat” are the judgments that brings our old man to “the grave”.

Here is what happens in the time of the harvest, when the time finally arrives for “their portion [ to be] cursed in the earth”:

Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Psa 69:22 Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare [ the blessing of our old man], let it become a trap.

The phrase “as the fat of lambs” demonstrates the principle upon which God operates. This is the very principle which is so frustrating to Job. It infuriates Job, who is the type and shadow of us, that God literally blesses our old man while persecuting our new man. Here is that very principle revealed in the book of Genesis. Remember, Ishmael is the son of the bondwoman. He is the type and shadow of God’s rejected anointed, carnal seed of Abraham, and this is what God tells us of this type of our own rejected anointed seed of Abraham, our old man:

Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Ishmael became “a great nation”, long before Isaac’s seed became a mere 70 souls whose descendants became the slaves of the Egyptians. Ishmael’s descendants had multiple cities and a capital before the type of the new man even began to flourish. The same is true of the next type of God’s rejected anointed, seed of Abraham, who was Esau. Esau also became a great nation, before Israel ever began to flourish. Esau met Jacob with 400 men from his nation which was called Edom, a name for Esau.

Gen 36:1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

Gen 36:19 These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

So it is God Himself who blesses our old man and makes him a great nation within us, while at the very same time outwardly persecuting and subduing the new man within us, just as our Savior was killed by His own people, but was resurrected from among the dead to become the victor over the old man within us all.

This is what Job cannot yet receive. Job, the type of us, thinks that outward works are sufficient to please God, but being the physical seed of Abraham and being outwardly circumcised does not change the heart of anyone. Isaac is the Old Testament type of those who are supernaturally born of God’s spirit. Those who are not born by the will of man, but are circumcised in their hearts, in the spirit, are “as Isaac was, the children of promise.”

Gen 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

Gen 17:22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Gen 17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

Here is Paul’s commentary on these verses of Gen 17:

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren [ Gentile Galatians, you and me], as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

So now we know what God is doing with Job, the type of us, as we are being judged and as we are coming to see that it is God who blesses our old man who is the enemy of our new man.

Job continues his description of his enemies, not yet aware that these enemies are one and all within himself, and are hiding behind the giant of self- righteousness of which we, as Job was, are completely unaware.

Job 24:21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

Job 24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

Job 24:23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

“Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he rests”, is the revelation of this same principle at work. It is God who blesses our old man, while persecuting and killing our new man. “Yet His eyes are upon their ways. They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low, [ and] are taken out of the way as all other.

Now Job poses this question:

Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

It is given to our self- righteous old man to see many of the principles upon which God operates. The very last thing any of us sees is that the worst enemy we have in this age is not anyone without, but is that beast we face each morning in the mirror. Like Job and like King David, we see the moat in our brother’s eye, but we cannot see the massive beam of self- righteousness within ourselves.

But God does see that massive beam, and it is the fuel for a great fire to be kindled within us, as it was in King David, and as it was in Job.

Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou [ God] mightest be justified when thou speakest [ the Truth of God’s sovereign judgments in all things], and be clear when thou judgest.

Here is where this verse is quoted in the New Testament. Here is the answer to Job’s question, “Who will make me a liar?”:

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings [ God’s judgments], and [ we] mightest overcome when thou [ and I] art judged [ by God].

Paul is quoting Psa 51:4 where David is confessing that God is indeed justified in sending the sword upon his house for the sin he committed in going after another man’s wife, killing that man and acting for nine long months as if he had done nothing wrong.

Here was the sin of King David, here is the sin of Job, and here is our sin:

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

The solution to this lukewarm, self- righteous condition (Rev 2:14-15) is to “buy of me gold tried in the fire”, and that “gold tried in the fire” for King David and for us all, is this blessed gift from our loving heavenly Father, articulated here in 2Sa 12. That “gold tried in the fire” is our heavenly Father’s free gift, and He is justified in judging us thusly:

2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

As always, anything that is bad news for our old man is good news for our new man. It is the greatest blessing ever given to the penitent “new man” when it is granted to us that “the sword… never departs from [ our] house”.

The way you and I ‘kill Uriah and take his wife to cover our sins’ is by settling for being half- hearted in our service to our Lord instead of “saving alive nothing that breathes” of the giants like self- righteousness which are just naturally within our own lives (Deu 20:16). It is by reproving God for judging us instead of confessing that it is we who have lied to ourselves concerning our own corrupt, self- righteous spiritual condition. “[ We] art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”, and we think we are “rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”.

Deu 20:16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

When we maintain our own righteousness, we are making God a liar, because God tells us that He is our righteousness.

Jer 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

It has not yet happened but we will get to the point where Job will acknowledge his own sad condition and will accept with gratitude the wonderful works of God within his life. But this takes a divine intervention within the lives of us all.

Once again we will jump ahead to see exactly where it is we are headed:

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?

Next week, If the Lord wills, we will hear Bildad’s last feeble attempt to point his own self- righteous finger at Job. Because it is such a feeble attempt, we will also hear a little of Job’s self- righteous answer as he demonstrated that he too, can point his finger at Bildad.

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?

Job 26:1 But Job answered and said,

Job 26:2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

Job 26:3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

Job 26:5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Video Links

Job 24:1-13 Yet God Layeth Not Folly To Them

Job 24:1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

Job 24:2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

Job 24:3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

Job 24:4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

Job 24:5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

Job 24:6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

Job 24:7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

Job 24:8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

Job 24:9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

Job 24:10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

Job 24:11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

Job 24:12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of thewounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

Job 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

Introduction

Eliphaz has finished speaking to Job. He is convinced that Job is a very evil man who has been hiding his sins from the whole world, but could not hide them from God. Eliphaz is so certain of Job’s wickedness that he was willing to accuse Job of specific sins for which he had no witnesses. Eliphaz had urged Job to “acquaint thyself with God”:

Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

Job 22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Job 22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

In our last study Job confessed that it was true; he did not know where God dwelt, nor did he know what would be God’s words:

Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

Job 23:4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

Job 23:5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.

Job is us when we are come to our wits’ end. He is very honest when he confesses that he realizes that God is completely sovereign and does “what His soul desires”. He admits that everything that has happened to him is “the thing that is appointed for me” and that it is all being “performed” by God Himself. God is dealing with him in a way he does not understand and in a way that strikes fear within him:

Job 23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Job 23:14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Job 23:15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.

Job 23:16 For God maketh my heart soft, [ Hebrew, fainthearted] and the Almighty troubleth me:

Job 23:17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

The one thing Job does know is that God is sovereign and is working all the evil Job is experiencing. What puzzles him to no end is why God is placing so many stripes upon him while blessing all the wicked around him.

For this reason he questions his Creator:

Job 24:1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

The Hebrew here translated “times” is the Hebrew word ‘eth’, and it denotes ‘set times’ in the sense in which it is used in these two verses where this word first appears in the Old Testament:

Gen 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time [ Hebrew, eth] of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

Gen 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time [ Hebrew, eth] of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

A man who acknowledges the total sovereignty of God has no doubt that God has prearranged all things and that all times are really ‘set times’ which must come to be just as they were “written” beforehand.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

The one thing Job and his friends agree on is the fact that God has set times for every thing that happens, past, present and future.

Ecc 3:14 I know, that, whatsoever God doeth, the same, shall be age- abiding, unto it, there is nothing to add, and, from it, there is nothing to take away,—and, God, hath done it, that men should stand in awe before him.

Ecc 3:15 That which was, already, had been, and, that which shall be, already, shall have been,—but, God, seeketh that which hath been chased away.

Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

Mat 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

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.

Act 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world [ Greek, aion].

“Why … Do they that know Him not see His days?” This is what stumps Job. “They that know Him” are His elect. ‘Why do not His elect see the days of His vengeance upon the wicked?’

“His days” are “the days of the Son of Man”.

Luk 17:22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

“The day of the Son of Man” is the day of judgment:

Zec 9:14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.

Luk 17:24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

When we put all three verses together in Luk 17, we can see that God is able to bring us to want His judgment in our lives. Let’s read those three verses all together:

Luk 17:22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

Luk 17:23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

Luk 17:24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

‘Why do those that know Him not see… the days of the son of man?’

Job 24:1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

The answer is that “not see[ ing] His days” is one of those “[ set] times [ which] is not hidden from the Almighty” which has been predestined for all of us to “desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and we will not see it”, until “the lightning that lightens out of one part under the heaven, shines unto the other part under the heaven”, comes to judge us, and then we will see our own day of judgment, as it first begins at the house of God:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment the [“day… of the Son of Man”] must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

But Job is the Old Testament type of us before we know any of this. At this point in our walk it appears to us all that God is coming down hard on us for seemingly insignificant sins, while blessing our very enemies.

So Job continues making this very point as he questions his Creator’s ways and why His own God is blessing his persecutors who are no better than he, and very possibly worse than he, though Job does not make the mistake Eliphaz made of making specific accusations against Eliphaz, Bildad or Zophar:

Job 24:2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

Job 24:3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

Job 24:4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

These are literally the methods employed by those who are rich in this world. To all of us when we are in this state of mind, nothing is more important than ‘the deal’ and the success of that deal. Job is as much as telling his accusers that they need to get the beam out of their own eyes before concerning themselves with the tiny mote in his eye, even though God’s wrath upon him is a fact which he indeed finds hard to explain. He simply cannot give up on his own integrity.

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.

But how do we spiritually “remove the landmarks” and commit all these other sins against our brothers and sisters?

When we spiritually “take away the landmarks” we do so with false doctrines and lies against and about the word of God and the character of God. When we “believe a lie” we are “damned”, but, just like Job, we certainly do not think at that time that we are in bondage to sin or that we believe any lies:

2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

This is us while we believe the lies of Babylon.

2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

If we are telling others that they cannot “know the Truth”, we are in effect telling them they cannot know Christ, who is the Truth.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

No man can “go in and possess the land” “but by Christ, “the Truth”, because we, with our lies and false doctrines, have confused and obfuscated what is that “land”. ‘The land’ spiritually is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. It is our bodies which are first full of giants and principalities, which hate the laws of God. By removing the landmarks we have actually told ourselves and those in our charge that it is impossible for anyone to know for certain what is the Truth, and if anyone claims to “know the Truth”, that person is arrogant and full of himself. Yet Christ tells us:

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free [ of the giants, principalities within the land].

What is the answer to all of this from those who “take away the landmarks”?

Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

When we deny that we can “know the Truth”, we are also saying that we cannot know Christ’s doctrine. But what do the scriptures teach:

Joh 7:16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

Joh 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine [ Greek didache – instruction, teaching], whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

Joh 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Mar 4:2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

It is those who are “do[ ing] God’s will” who will “know the doctrine, whether it be of God…” ‘Taking away the landmarks’ keeps us from being capable of “trying the spirits” and knowing what is taught in God’s word. When we do not know our spiritual boundaries and do not believe that Christ, the Truth can live His life within us, we have moved the landmarks which tell us where the old man ends and where the new man begins, and we deny that we are in bondage to the lies we believe.

So is it really possible to “know the doctrine”? Is it really even possible to “try the spirits to… know… whether they are of God”? Job in type and shadow, and Christ in spiritual reality, both think this is a question which is a matter of life and death. So what is Christ’s doctrine concerning whether you and I can “know [ His] doctrine, whether it is of God”? How can that possibly be done? Here, and here alone, is how we can “know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”:

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit [ teaching, doctrine], but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets [ bringing false doctrines] are gone out into the world.

1Jn 4:5 They [ who will not try the spirits] are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

1Jn 4:6 We [ who try every doctrine to see whether it is of God] are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Jer 23:26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

We have all been guilty of believing the lies of false prophets.

Jer 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

“They shall not profit this people at all”, but they surely do profit themselves by both spiritually and metaphorically “… tak[ ing] away flocks, and feeding [ themselves] thereof. They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. They turn the needy out of the way”, and when we do these things we will be judged by these fiery words:

Deu 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Deu 27:17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Deu 24:17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:

When we are spiritually “taking away flocks”, we are doing nothing more than “drawing away disciples after [ ourselves]” while we are in the clutches of the doctrines of Babylon.

Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Job 24:5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

Our time spent in Babylon is our time as a “wild beast… in the… wilderness”, and it certainly does “yield food for” us while we are yet there either feeding ourselves from the flock or being ‘sheared’ by our leaders.

Job 11:12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

Here is King David’s commentary on why men are like “wild asses in the desert”:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Our mother is also likened unto a wild ass in her month, and is known for her fornication as told by the prophet Jeremiah:

Jer 2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

Jer 2:24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

Jer 2:25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

We have a verse of scripture which tells us that it is God Himself who has made it thus. It is God Himself who poses this question to Job:

Job 39:5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? [ The answer of course being God.]

But God has not yet spoken those words to Job, so Job, typifying each of us at our own appointed time, continues describing himself, even as he thinks he is describing his friends and self- righteously excludes himself:

Job 24:6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

Remembering that Christ interprets “the field [ as] the world”; we too, reap the vintage of the wicked when we sow to this world.

Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

What we all first reap is “the vintage of the wicked”, and as the tares which are “the children of the wicked”, the children who are the fruit of our “old man”, it is our own “old man”, with all of his false doctrines and lies, who is “gathered together first… in bundles to be burned”.

Job’s whole experience explains to us this “parable of the tares of the field”. Job’s old man, as the type of our old man, is being “burned… first”, and as such we and he will also be the first to inherit the inward kingdom of God, which is the very subject of all of Christ’s words.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them[ the multitudes of Christians] in parables?

Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

So Job represents us as the tares are gathered first to be burned by means of this long drawn out trial of Job, which typifies our own long drawn out trials which burn out the wood, hay, and stubble and tares which are the lives of our own “old man… the first man Adam”.

Job 24:7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

We do not at first recognize that it is we who “cause the naked to lodge without clothing,” contrary to the common decency and contrary to the law of God:

Deu 24:12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:

Deu 24:13 In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.

The raiment of God’s elect is their righteousness which they receive from God. When we take away a man’s raiment, we are in effect taking away the words of the knowledge of Christ and His Father from our friends and family. Here is what we deprive our brothers and sisters of when we ‘take their raiment for a pledge’.

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Here now is yet another type of “the Word”, and the doctrine of Christ.

Job 24:8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

“The showers of the mountains”, like the fire of God’s Word, have both a positive and a negative application in scripture. In one application, God withholds his soothing, life- giving showers, when we are being shown ourselves as an unfaithful wife.

Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

Under the proper circumstances these same showers, as a type of the Word of God, are refreshingly cooling and produce much needed growth. We are told:

Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain [ His Word. His doctrine] on the just and on the unjust.

Deu 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Eze 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

But when those rains fall upon us when we are unjust because of the lies we believe, they seem very cold to us and we are, in time, forced to flee to “and embrace the rock for want of shelter.”

What is “the rock” which we are compelled to “embrace for… shelter”?

Deu 32:18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

Deu 32:34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

Deu 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their [ our] foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their [ Job’s and our] calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Deu 32:36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.

Deu 32:37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

Psa 31:2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock [ Greek- petra] that followed them: and that Rock [ Greek- petra] was Christ.

Christ is the only Rock upon which He has built His church. Peter is a petros, a mere pebble, but “upon this petra”, Christ, a massive boulder, a worthy foundation, Christ is building His own church, both corporately and within us.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [ Greek, petros – a piece of a rock], and upon this rock [ Greek, petra – a massive rock] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

We all have a piece of Christ within us, if indeed he is there. But His church is not built upon His pieces, rather His pieces are built upon Him.

Job 24:9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

“They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.” We are encouraged to “desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby”.

1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

It is in this immature, newborn babe, still on the breast, stage of our walk that Babylon will always catch us and turn us from that “sincere milk” and make us into their own image.

When we “compass land as sea to make one [ infant] convert” to our own Babylonian doctrines, we have fulfilled the words of this 9th verse of Job 24.

Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! [ self- righteous Job within you and me] for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Job is pointing his finger, as a type of us, totally unaware of the personal application of his own words.

Job 24:10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

“They” are you and me while we are slaves to our old man and all of his false, Babylonian doctrines, which rob us of any spiritual clothing or spiritual nourishment.

Job 24:11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

The word ‘Which’, refers to “the fatherless… and poor” of verse 9:

Job 24:9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

Babylon is our old man in his mature, full- blown state. It is in this position and in this spiritual condition that we shear the sheep and are sheared of our master, our own old, first man Adam. We are his slave and we tread his winepresses, and do His bidding, and we suffer thirst and are never satisfied, and we never come to know or find the peace of mind we are always seeking.

Job 24:12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

Job 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

“The city” out of which “men groan” spiritually is “that great city [ within us] where the two witnesses are slain and “where also our Lord was crucified”.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

That “city” spiritually is also called “Babylon the Great” which is within us all and which prospers within us until the day we are dragged out of that city just as Lot and His family were dragged out of the doomed city of literal Sodom. “God lays not folly to them”, and we are “them”… they… rebel against the light… nor abide in the paths” of light.

Job sees clearly that God is not immediately rewarding the wicked or the righteous according to their works. But he does not know why that is so. Just like Job, we are able to see all of this in others long before we come to see that it was our own old man who was blessed and prospered by God in his iniquities and in his own rebellious sins for so long. It was you and me who were all along “rebelling against the light” which was shining in on our own self- righteousness. Job as the Old Testament type and shadow of who we all first are, does not know the ways of God, and does not yet abide in the realization that he has no integrity or righteousness in and of himself, and yet God went for many years and “layed not folly to [ him, the type of me and you].” This is the conundrum and the mystery of the kingdom of God, with which Job is struggling, while he is still part of the multitudes who cannot understand those mysteries (Mat 13:10-11).

Next week, if the Lord wills we will continue with Job’s demonstration of his frustration with his inability to understand the principles revealed in the parable of the tares of the field.

Here are our verses for our next study:

Job 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

Job 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

Job 24:18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Job 24:20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

Job 24:21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

Job 24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

Job 24:23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?