Daily Scripture Reading Job 24:10 - 26:10
Humans tend to have an exalted view of our power and ability. Since we have harnessed electricity, created machines that can work for us, and invented the ability to communicate with any person on earth at any time, we think we are big and powerful.
Today, we will read a passage in which Bildad expressed a more accurate view of humanity’s place in the universe.Today, we will resume reading in the middle of section 16, which is Job’s response to Eliphaz.
After articulating the reality that the Almighty does whatever He wants and humans are completely powerless compared to Him, Job began listing sins which God appears to ignore. He included moving boundaries, oppressing widows, and harming orphans.
Job 24:10 Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,
And hungry ones carry the sheaves.
Job’s point was the poor ones are naked because evil men oppress them, and the people carrying the sheaves or grain are hungry because they are not allowed to eat the food they are carrying.
Job 24:11 Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.
Look at the second line of verse 11. Some people work to produce wine, but they are not able to drink of it; thus, they thirst.
Job 24:12 From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not pay attention to such offense.
In the last line of verse 12 Job expressed his belief that God does not pay attention to all the evil and oppression that takes place on earth.
Job 24:13 ¶ “Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to recognize its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
Verse 13 is a little cryptic, but the following verses help explain it. Daylight forces people to behave because their actions can be seen. Those who want to misbehave, as listed in the following verses, do so at night so they cannot be seen. The phrase “rebel against the light” refers to those who walk about at night so they can do bad things without being caught.
Job 24:14 The murderer arises at dawn;
He kills the afflicted and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.
Job 24:15 The eye of the adulterer keeps watch for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he keeps his face hidden.
The adulterer commits adultery at night, thinking no one will know.
Job 24:16 In the dark they dig into houses;
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
Notice the word “dark”.
Job 24:17 For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,
For he recognizes the terrors of the shadow of death.
Evil people think sunrise is bad because they have to stop their evil deeds.
Job 24:18 ¶ “They are insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is cursed on the earth.
They do not turn toward the vineyards.
The pronoun “they” refers to those who act wickedly at night. The word insignificant means those people are a small percentage of the population. They do not work in the vineyards in order to earn an honest day’s wage.
Job 24:19 Drought and heat seize the snow waters,
So does Sheol those who have sinned.
In verse 19 Job began arguing that wicked people will not prosper.
Just as heat melts the snow waters, so too Sheol captures sinners.
Job 24:20 A mother will forget him;
The worm feasts sweetly till he is no longer remembered.
And unrighteousness will be broken like a tree.
Job 24:21 He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth
And does no good for the widow.
Job 24:22 ¶ But He drags off the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one believes in his life.
Job 24:23 He provides them with security, and they are supported;
And His eyes are on their ways.
Job 24:24 They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
Look at the words “gone” and “cut off”. Job insisted those who do all the wicked things listed in chapter 24 will be cut off.
Job 24:25 Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”
Job 25:1 ¶ Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
Notice the name “Bildad”. This verse begins section 17.
Job 25:2 “Rule and dread belong to Him
Who makes peace in His heights.
Take note of the words “rule” and “dread”. Bildad proclaimed that the Almighty rules and is dreaded.
Job 25:3 Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
These are rhetorical questions. God has an unlimited number of troops, and His sun shines on everyone.
Job 25:4 How then can mortal man be right with God?
Or how can he be pure who is born of woman?
These are also rhetorical questions. Bildad declared that no human can be right before God. That was a direct refutation of Job’s claim to be righteous.
Job 25:5 Behold even the moon has no brightness,
And the stars are not pure in His sight;
Job 25:6 How much less mortal man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”
Take note of the words “maggot” and “worm”. Bildad used lowly words to refer to humans.
Humans tend to have an exalted view of our place in the universe. Since we have harnessed electricity, created machines, and invented the ability to communicate with any person on earth at any time, we think we are big and powerful.
However, all the power and ability possessed by humans is nothing compared to God. Compared to God, people are worms.
Keep in mind, Bildad was not inspired by the Holy Spirit when he said this. The inerrancy of Scripture means the author of Job accurately recorded what Bildad said, it does not necessarily mean Bildad was correct.
Having said that, in this case we know Bildad was correct because the rest of Scripture teaches the power and sovereignty of God verses the smallness, sinfulness, and powerlessness of humans. The value of this passage is how Bildad articulated that truth.
Job 26:1 ¶ Then Job answered and said,
Notice the name Job. This verse begins section 18.
Job 26:2 “What a help you are to the one without power!
How you have saved the arm without strength!
Job 26:3 What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What sound wisdom you have abundantly made known!
Job 26:4 To whom have you declared words?
And whose breath comes out from you?
Job 26:5 ¶ “The departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
Job 26:6 Naked is Sheol before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.
The pronoun “Him” refers to God. Sheol and Abaddon cannot protect humans from God.
Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over what is formless
And hangs the earth on nothing.
Job 26:8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not break out under them.
Job 26:9 He obscures the face of His throne
And spreads His cloud over it.
Job 26:10 He has marked a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
Humans have invented technologies which enable us to communicate with any person on earth at any time, as well as machines which give us the ability to travel all over the earth, and even leave earth to go into outer space. Our ability to invent things gives many humans an exalted view of humanity.
Bildad expressed a more accurate picture of humanity. Compared to God, we are insignificant and powerless.
To what extent does your church put people in their place, and remind them that we are mere servants of Yahweh?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”