Avoid Wickedness And Pray Pure Prayers
16:1Then
Iyov answered,
16:2"I
have heard many such things.
Miserable comforters are you all!
16:3Shall
vain words have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
16:4I
also could speak as you do.
If your soul were in my soul's place,
I could join words together against you,
And shake my head at you.
16:5But
I would strengthen you with my mouth.
The solace of my lips would relieve you.
16:6"Though
I speak, my grief is not subsided.
Though I forbear, what am I eased?
16:7But
now, Mighty One, you have surely worn me out.
You have made desolate all my company.
16:8You
have shriveled me up. This is a witness against me.
My leanness rises up against me,
It testifies to my face.
16:9He
has torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me;
He has gnashed on me with his teeth:
My adversary sharpens his eyes on me.
16:10They
have gaped on me with their mouth;
They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully.
They gather themselves together against me.
16:11The
Mighty One delivers me to the unrighteous,
And casts me into the hands of the wicked.
16:12I
was at ease, and he broke me apart.
Yes, he has taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces.
He has also set me up for his target.
16:13His
archers surround me.
He splits my kidneys apart, and does not spare.
He pours out my gall on the ground.
16:14He
breaks me with breach on breach.
He runs on me like a Rafa.
16:15I
have sewed sackcloth on my skin,
And have thrust my horn in the dust.
16:16My
face is red with weeping.
Deep darkness is on my eyelids.
16:17Although
there is no violence in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
16:18"Earth,
don't cover my blood,
Let my cry have no place to rest.
16:19Even
now, behold, my witness is in Heaven.
He who vouches for me is on high.
16:20My
friends scoff at me.
My eyes pour out tears to the Mighty One,
16:21That
he would maintain the right of a man with the Mighty One,
Of a son of man with his neighbor!
16:22For
when a few years are come,
I shall go the way from whence I shall not return.
16:17 shows that Iyov avoided the way of wickedness, and prayed pure prayers to Yahweh the Mighty One. We should do likewise.
[16:16 appears to suggest that Iyov was of the Caucasian (white) race, seeing that his face was "red with weeping", and "deep darkness" was on his eyelids. These are physical traits typical of those of the Caucasian race in similar circumstances.]
Avoid The Traits Of Wickedness
21:1Then
Iyov answered,
21:2"Listen
diligently to my speech.
Let this be your consolation.
21:3Allow
me, and I also will speak;
After I have spoken, mock on.
21:4As
for me, is my complaint to man?
Why shouldn't I be impatient?
21:5Look
at me, and be astonished.
Lay your hand on your mouth.
21:6When
I remember, I am troubled.
Horror takes hold of my flesh.
21:7"Why
do the wicked live,
Become old, yes, and grow mighty in power?
21:8Their
child is established with them in their sight,
Their offspring before their eyes.
21:9Their
houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of the Mighty One upon them.
21:10Their
bulls breed without fail.
Their cows calve, and don't miscarry.
21:11They
send forth their little ones like a flock.
Their children dance.
21:12They
sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
21:13They
spend their days in prosperity.
In an instant they go down to She'ol.
21:14They
tell the Mighty One, 'Depart from us,
For we don't want to know about your ways.
21:15What
is Shaddai, that we should serve him?
What profit should we have, if we pray to him?'
21:16Behold,
their prosperity is not in their hand:
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
21:17"How
often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes on them?
That the Mighty One distributes sorrows in his anger?
21:18That
they are as stubble before the wind,
As chaff that the storm carries away?
21:19You
say, 'The Mighty One lays up his iniquity for his children.'
Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
21:20Let
his own eyes see his destruction.
Let him drink of the wrath of Shaddai.
21:21For
what does he care for his house after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
21:22"Shall
any teach the Mighty One knowledge,
Seeing he judges those who are high?
21:23One
dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and quiet.
21:24His
pails are full of milk.
The marrow of his bones is moistened.
21:25Another
dies in bitterness of soul,
And never tastes of good.
21:26They
lie down alike in the dust,
The worm covers them.
21:27"Behold,
I know your thoughts,
The devices with which you would wrong me.
21:28For
you say, 'Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?'
21:29Haven't
you asked wayfaring men?
Don't you know their evidences,
21:30That
the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity?
That they are led forth to the day of wrath?
21:31Who
shall declare his way to his face?
Who shall repay him what he has done?
21:32Yet
shall he be borne to the grave,
Men shall keep watch over the tomb.
21:33The
clods of the valley shall be sweet to him.
All men shall draw after him,
As there were innumerable before him.
21:34So
how can you comfort me with nonsense,
Seeing that in your answers there remains only falsehood?"
21:14-15 shows that the wicked have no regard for the Mighty One, or for his ways. They see no profit in serving Yahweh, or in praying to him.
Servants of Yahweh should avoid these traits of the wicked.
Yahweh Hears The Prayers Of Repentant Sinners
22:1Then
Elifaz the Temanite answered,
22:2"Can
a man be profitable to the Mighty One?
Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
22:3Is
it any pleasure to Shaddai, that you are righteous?
Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect?
22:4Is
it for your piety that he reproves you,
That he enters with you into judgment?
22:5Isn't
your wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to your iniquities.
22:6For
you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
22:7You
haven't given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.
22:8But
as for the mighty man, he had the earth.
The honorable man, he lived in it.
22:9You
have sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
22:10Therefore
snares are round about you.
Sudden fear troubles you,
22:11Or
darkness, so that you can not see,
And floods of waters cover you.
22:12"Isn't
the Mighty One in the heights of Heaven?
See the height of the stars, how high they are!
22:13You
say, 'What does the Mighty One know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
22:14Thick
clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn't see.
He walks on the vault of the sky.'
22:15Will
you keep the old way
Which wicked men have trodden,
22:16Who
were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
22:17Who
said to the Mighty One, 'Depart from us;'
And, 'What can Shaddai do for us?'
22:18Yet
he filled their houses with good things,
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
22:19The
righteous see it, and are glad;
The innocent laugh them to scorn,
22:20Saying,
'Surely those who rose up against us are cut off,
The fire has consumed the remnant of them.'
22:21"Acquaint
yourself with him, now, and be at shalom.
Thereby good shall come to you.
22:22Please
receive the law from his mouth,
And lay up his words in your heart.
22:23If
you return to Shaddai, you shall be built up,
If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.
22:24Lay
your treasure in the dust,
The gold of Ofir among the stones of the brooks.
22:25The
Almighty will be your treasure,
Precious silver to you.
22:26For
then shall you delight yourself in Shaddai,
And shall lift up your face to the Mighty One.
22:27You
shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you.
You shall pay your vows.
22:28You
shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you.
Light shall shine on your ways.
22:29When
they cast down, you shall say, 'be lifted up.'
He will save the humble person.
22:30He
will even deliver him who is not innocent;
Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
The words of Elifaz the Temanite in 22:21-30 are true, as applied to repentant sinners. Nevertheless, his accusation against Iyov was false, for Iyov was not guilty of having committed the sins he accused Iyov of having committed. Elifaz's words were therefore not applicable to Iyov, but to wicked men.
But the message in them is correct, that Shaddai, Yahweh the Mighty Man, indeed hears the prayers of repentant sinners. Therefore, if we have sinned, we should repent of our sins, and subsequently pray to Yahweh. He will then hear us, but not while we are still committing iniquity.
Confess Your Sins To Both Yahweh And Men
33:23"If
there is beside him an angel,
An interpreter, one among a thousand,
To show to man what is right for him;
33:24Then
the Mighty One is gracious to him, and says,
'Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom.'
33:25His
flesh shall be fresher than a child's;
He returns to the days of his youth.
33:26He
prays to the Mighty One, and he is favorable to him,
So that he sees his face with joy:
He restores to man his righteousness.
33:27He
sings before men, and says,
'I have sinned, and perverted that which was right,
And it didn't profit me.
33:28He
has redeemed my soul from going into the pit,
My life shall see the light.'
33:26-27 shows that the people the Mighty One restores to righteousness are those who confess their sins, not just to the Mighty One, but also to other human beings.
Servants of Yahweh should therefore not be shy about confessing their sins to one another, but should do so. They should, even more importantly, confess their sins to Yahweh the Mighty One. Confession of sins is therefore to be made to both Yahweh the Mighty One and to other human beings.
Yahweh's Servants Must Pray For Sinners
42:7It
was so, that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Iyov, Yahweh said to Elifaz
the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two
friends; for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant
Iyov has. 42:8Now therefore, take to
yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Iyov, and offer up
for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Iyov shall pray for you, for I
will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have
not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Iyov has."
42:9So
Elifaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuchi and Tzofar the Naamathite went, and
did what Yahweh commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Iyov.
42:10Yahweh
turned the captivity of Iyov, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Iyov
twice as much as he had before. 42:11Then
came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had
been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They
comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought
on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold.
42:12So
Yahweh blessed the latter end of Iyov more than his beginning. He had fourteen
thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand
female donkeys. 42:13He had also
seven sons and three daughters. 42:14He
called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and
the name of the third, Keren-happuch. 42:15In
all the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Iyov. Their
father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 42:16After this Iyov lived one hundred forty
years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, to four generations. 42:17So Iyov died, being old and full of days.
42:8 shows that Yahweh requires his servants to pray for sinners. To pray for sinners that they may repent of their sins, and that Yahweh may accept them into his fold.
It is therefore a duty of a servant of Yahweh to pray for others, that they may repent of their sins, and that Yahweh may forgive them of their sins, and accept them into his household.
42:10 shows that Yahweh blessed Iyov only after he had prayed for his friends. In other words, for Yahweh to shower his blessings upon his servants, they must first perform the duty that Yahweh had given them to perform, including praying for repentant sinners that these may be forgiven.
We should therefore pray for sinners, that they may both repent of their sins, and that Yahweh may forgive them of their sins. After so doing, Yahweh can then allow the blessings that he desires for us to come upon us.
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