#661 Water or Whine

Then Job answered and said:

2 “How you have helped him who has no power!

How you have saved the arm that has no strength!

3 How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,

and plentifully declared sound knowledge!

4 With whose help have you uttered words,

and whose breath has come out from you?

5 The dead tremble

under the waters and their inhabitants.

6 Sheol is naked before God,

and Abaddon has no covering.

7 He stretches out the north over the void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

9 He covers the face of the full moon

and spreads over it his cloud.

10 He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his rebuke.

12 By his power he stilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered Rahab.

13 By his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,

and how small a whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?” Job 26 ESV

Job responds to Bildad and this is a small chapter so I recommend reading it now once more, aloud and in your most sarcastic tone, for it is dripping with it. It is a response to Bildad, but effectively answers his other friends as well, and I must confess that I have more than once deserved such a response myself. 

Power and strength - Job is not fronting anything to cover his situation, and he is admittedly weak. The ranting about God's greatness in view of Job's perceived defiance offers nothing to the conversation. If I show you my broken arm and your answer is to tell me about someone whose arm is not broken, whose arm is bigger than mine, there is possibly a way this could apply, but not by way of a rebuke. It reminds me of another story and of a potential. Do you remember when the children of Israel fought the children of Amalek? When Moses hands were lifted up Joshua prevailed, but when he grew tired, his hands fell and the Amalekites gained ground. Aaron and Hur realized this and did not rebuke tired arms, what did they do?

Lifting hands

Wisdom, sound knowledge, words and breath - Look, I can make words when I move my mouth, and what have you told me in your discourse that enlightened me, that proved useful in my situation? You have brought me nothing that I didn't already know, and he is about to enlighten them further to this, but who else have you given advice to, the man who threw himself off the cliff no doubt? Remember earlier, the other friend claimed a special knowledge, a spirit paid him a visit back in chapter 4. Whose help and whose breath? The Bible tells us to test the spirits, and Job knows this one is more than a little suspect, because he is not guilty of the things these men insist upon, at first vague, hoping that he would confess, but then more focused as they feed upon each other's assumptions. Bildad was probably more emboldened by Eliphaz's "spiritual visitor" than Job, but then Job new a truth that the others did not, and there was a deeper truth still, that rested with the heavens. They brought the weight of experience, age, tradition and spirits, yet became only the tormentors of their friend.

1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,…1 John 4: 1-2

Dead tremble, Sheol is naked and Abaddon has no covering - People say, "I'll sleep when I am dead," people say a lot of things, and Job early on wished for death. But now, there seems to be no rest for the weary, that hell is not even hidden to eyes of God, nor the roaming of the devil (Abaddon). He is here agreeing with the points of his accusers on the magnificence and glory of God. He amplifies these things to a whole other level, there is no place, no abyss so deep, no escaping the justice of God. 

He hangs the earth on nothing, wow! Job, what a lucky guess, no arm, or axle and bearings, no giant turtles? There would not be a lot of photographs back then taken from the moon, looking back at the sphere of the earth, and you would not want to go too far away from the language of the time, for that would make it difficult to readers for thousands of years to come. Science won't come to this for quite some time, like the historical claims the Bible makes regarding the origin of the human race. We all come from Adam and Eve the Bible would like us to believe, shared parentage. 

He binds up water, how does He hold it up there? Job stands every bit and more in awe of the majesty of God as the Creator. 

Covers the face of the moon and draws a circle on the waters, boundary between light and dark. Job seems to have some early comprehension of the curvature of the earth, maybe in referencing the moon, places where the horizon suggest this on the water. Maybe he has pondered the obstruction of light, the shadow on the moon. 

The pillars of the heaven - this is poetry for the mountains, and who has not stood at the foot of the mountains or viewing them afar off, and thought not, how incredible they are, how small I am? Job speaks to their trembling, an earthquake, and puts God above all these things, even in the dark, before so many scientific discoveries, he gets to be right, the Creator is above it all.

Stilled the sea and shattered Rahab - His poetry here reflects usages of myths from his time, Rahab is described as a sea monster that was subdued by a god, it also means proud one. The God that Job worships is attributed this position over the sea and the things in it. Later, God's prophets Moses, Elijah and Elisha will split the water. They will point to Jesus, Who will walk on the water and command the storm, He would be the better friend to have in Job's present situation, to be with you through the storm.

Outskirts of His ways - I look at creation, I marvel, I wonder, and there is so much yet to know, we have merely scratched the surface. Eye has not seen, the window is stained glass, and Job is now holding the awe of what he cannot hold, what would split his head to glimpse. His friends have not come to this because they are comfortable with where they are, enjoying the sounds of their own reason, taking as proofs the things they own. If they could ever come to this precipice where Job now sits, they could lift his arms towards heaven along with theirs, ask the Lord for mercy, beg the Lord for grace, for we do not understand all this, but they can't, because they would have to put down their box in order to lift their hands. 

Do not [g]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [h]condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5: 9-11