Job Chapter 25 and 26
Please read: Job 25 & 26 –
The very last argument of Bildad is worthless. He simply repeated what had already been said, and it certainly was not comforting to Job, and Job told him so in the next chapter. In his mind he was convinced that Job wanted to argue with God to prove himself right. And so, he talks about the superiority of God but does not give any hope of redemption.
Job responds with not only examples that shows he agrees that God is superior to mankind but that He is so much more than his friends can even imagine. His friends believe God to exist and that He has great power over mankind; but they do not understand the relationship that God wants to have with people. They are perhaps like those in our modern culture who say they believe in a “higher power.” God wants so much more for us than to just know about His existence. He wants us to get to know Him, to know His great love for us.
Let's Reflect
1. Bildad is correct when he states that man cannot stand on his own merit before God and claim to be pure. All are sinners. What true statement did he give about the birth of every child born on this earth?
2. Did you find his last verse to be disgusting in how he described mankind? And did you wonder if he realized that he is calling himself by this same label?
3. In verses 1-4 of chapter 26 Job responds with great sarcasm. What is the message he is stating about his friends in these verses?
4. Job acknowledges God’s omnipresence in verses 5-6. No one can hide from the eyes of God no matter where they are. They cannot hide from Him when in the grave (Sheol) nor can they hide from Him in the place where Abaddon is. This name Abaddon or Apollyon in the Greek is the name given to the angel of the bottomless pit. What is the third way that Job describes as a place of death where God still sees mankind?
5. Job had a beautiful understanding of the creative power of God; no doubt obtained from his intimate moments spent with the Father. My favorite is found in verse 6. What did Job say about the earth?
6. He also describes God’s power over the slithering serpent we know as Satan or Lucifer, but in verse 12 he is given another name that means “proud one.” What is the name?
7. As I write this, it is currently thundering outside. What a beautiful reminder of the power of our God. Yes, thunder is atmospheric in nature, but it is God who created it all. Job beautifully teaches his friends that all these things he just mentioned do not begin to tell the whole of God. How did Job put that idea in words?
