Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 30:16-31.  Let’s go! 

Job 30:16-19 (NIV) 
16  “And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me. 
17  Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest. 
18  In his great power [God] becomes like clothing to me; he binds me like the neck of my garment. 
19  He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

On verses 16-31:  Here Job complains about the significant physical pain he is in due to a disease he has contracted.  Some scholars believe this disease may have been a skin condition like pemphigus foliaceus.  According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary:

“[t]his disease, as attested by physicians today, matches the symptoms of Job’s afflictions—inflamed, ulcerous sores (Job 2:7), itching (v. 8), degenerative changes in facial skin

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 30:1-15.  Let’s go! 

On verses 1-15:  Job has gone from being someone whom others held in high esteem (see Job 29) to one whom others mock.  When Job looks at the people mocking him, he notices that they are men much younger than him, whose fathers were deadbeats whom he would never have associated with (v1-8), “a base and nameless brood” (v8).  The ones mocking Job mock him in song (v9) and spit in his face (v10) without any kind of restraint (v11).  Job describes his mockers in military terms, how they are like an army that besieges him (v12), leaving him without any road to exit or escape (“break up my road” – v13).  They advance against Job like an army attacking a city, the walls of which are already torn down with gaping holes (v14).  As a result, Job lives in terror, feeling unsafe and humiliated (v15).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 29:1-25.  Let’s go! 

Job 29:2-6 (NIV) 
2  “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, 
3  when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! 
4  Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, 
5  when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, 
6  when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
 
On verses 1-25:  Here Job longs achingly for the years that preceded all the loss and pain he experienced.  Those were the days when he felt God’s illuminating light and intimate friendship (v2-4), when his children were still with him and life was sweet (v5-6), when he had great status in the eyes of people (v7-11), when he helped the weak and poor (v12-17), when he was filled with confidence and hope about his future (v18-20), when people valued his counsel (v21-24), and when he enjoyed great power but was gentle in his exercise of it (v25).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 28:1-28.  Let’s go!

Job 28:1-11 (NIV) 
1  “There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2  Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3  Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.
4  Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man; far from men he dangles and sways.
5  The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;
6  sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7  No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8  Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.
9  Man’s hand assaults the flinty rock and lays bare the roots of the mountains.
10  He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures.
11  He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light.

On verses 1-11:  Why does Job speak at length about how people mine for silver and gold?  It’s because Job is comparing getting wisdom to mining for precious metals.  In both cases the treasure is hidden beneath the surface, requires an intentional and difficult search to find, is hard to reach (v4), and cannot be perceived by bird or beast (v7-8, 20-21).