Lesson 373 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understand-ing" (Job 28:28).
Cross References
I The Protection of the Righteous
1. He shall be delivered from all distress, [JOB:5:17-22]; [PS:103:3-4].
2. He shall be in harmony with nature, [JOB:5:23-24]; [ISA:55:12].
3. His days shall be prolonged, [JOB:5:25-27]; [PS:91:16]; [PRO:3:2].
II The Destruction of the Wicked
1. His light shall be put out, [JOB:18:5-6]; [MAT:8:12].
2. His own counsel shall cast him down, [JOB:18:7-8]; [PRO:3:5].
3. He shall go from bad to worse, [JOB:18:9-18].
III The Resurrection from the Dead
1. This present life is brief, [JOB:14:1-6], [JOB:14:10-13]; [JAM:4:14]; [1PE:1:24].
2. There are examples of resurrection in nature, [JOB:14:7-9]; [1CO:15:36-38].
3. Job is confident of his resurrection, [JOB:14:14-15]; [JOB:19:23-27].
4. Job's past sins had been forgiven, [JOB:14:16-17]; [PS:32:1].
5. Death and decay are seen in nature and man, [JOB:14:18-22].
IV The Place of Wisdom
1. Man has not found it in his search for wealth, [JOB:28:1-12].
2. Man cannot buy it with his wealth, [JOB:28:13-21].
3. God knows the place of wisdom, [JOB:28:22-27]; [ECC:2:26].
4. God instructs man to fear Him and depart from evil, [JOB:28:28]; [ECC:12:13-14].
Notes
The Wicked Destroyed; the Righteous Protected
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" [PS:34:19]). Job was tested almost to the limit in his affliction; so much so that his friends thought he surely must be guilty of some hideous sin. If Job were righteous he would be delivered, reasoned Eliphaz. Although he was wrong in his opinion of Job, Eliphaz did cite some beautiful truths of God's protection of His own: "In famine he shall redeem the from death: and in war from the power of the sword" [JOB:5:20]). "Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee" [JOB:5:23]).
Just as sin disrupted the harmony of the Garden of Eden, so sin today sets man at odds with the course of nature. In the first place, it breaks his fellowship with his Creator. Sinful habits put him out of gear with normal, healthful living. Smoking of tobacco produces disease such as lung cancer. Shows, television, and dancing accentuate lust, which leads to broken homes. Drinking of alcoholic beverages sets man adrift and destroys his usefulness. "Terrors shall make him afraid . . . His strength shall be hunger bitten, . . . His confidence shall be rooted out . . . His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. . . . He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world" [JOB:18:11-18]).
While the "king of terrors" [JOB:18:14]) is ever on the trail of the wicked, the Lord "withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous" [JOB:36:7]). "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" [ROM:8:35-37]).
God sent famine to Israel as a result of their sins, but fed His prophet, Elijah, by the ravens. When the tongues of evil men plotted the overthrow of Daniel, God delivered him from the lions' den. God protected Noah when the whole world was destroyed and let him live at peace in the ark with the beasts of the field of every species. Surely it is proved that "in famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. . . . neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth" [JOB:5:20-22]).
Resurrection
Although accused of being a hypocrite, Job was fully aware of the brevity of this life and the immortality of the soul. Job asked: "What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?" [JOB:27:8]). "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, . . . He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down" [JOB:14:1-2]). Job observed: "There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, . . . Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, . . . But man dieth, . . . and where is he?" [JOB:14:7-10]). From his observation, no one had ever come forth out of the grave. But when he asked the question, "If a man die, shall he live again?" his soul within him responded, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee" [JOB:14:14-15]).
The more Job pondered the question, the more confident he became, until he exclaimed, "Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! . . . For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me" [JOB:19:23-27]). Job believed not only in the immortality of the soul, but in the resurrection of the body. He foretells the reign of Christ on the earth by stating that He "shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: . . . and mine eyes shall behold, and not another."
A Search for Wisdom
"Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" [JOB:28:12]). In probing into this question, Job noted that silver, gold, iron, brass, and sapphires all had their place. Men searched them out by digging into the mountains, penetrating to a place that "the vulture's eye hath not seen" and where even the lions had not trodden. "The thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light," digging it out of the darkness below the surface of the ground.
Man has discovered many rare gems, going to the depth of the mountains; but of the place of wisdom, "the sea saith, It is not in me." Man dives into the sea to obtain pearls, but "the sea saith, It is not with me." Man with his ability and endless search for treasures has not discovered the place of wisdom.
Neither with all the priceless treasures man has accumulated can be buy wisdom. "It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof" [JOB:28:15]). "Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" [JOB:28:20]). Man has not found it in the sea, nor on the land, neither under the earth, nor in the air. "Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears." But they had not discovered the place of wisdom.
The answer to the search is that "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven" [JOB:28:23-24]). Man's vision is limited, but God is portrayed as seeing everywhere with the flash of his lightning. "Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out" [JOB:28:27]). God turns then to man and tells him: "behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" [JOB:28:28]). Solomon, the wisest man, after searching every avenue of life brought up a similar conclusion: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" [ECC:12:13-14]).
Questions
1. Name some troubles from which God delivers the righteous, and give Bible examples of the deliverance.
2. What is meant by being in league with the stones of the field?
3. What are some of the things that happen to the wicked? (Job 18).
4. Give some Scriptural comparisons of the brevity of life.
5. Give some natural examples of resurrection.
6. What did Job mean by "Till my change come"? [JOB:14:14]).
7. Give proof that Job believed in the resurrection of the body.
8. What did Job say that prophesies the second coming of Christ?
9. What has man failed to find, in his search for precious things?
10. What is wisdom?