“I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels…Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying…Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand…shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not?” (Jeremiah 18:3-6, Isaiah 29:16)
“I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven [all creation]fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God…and the books were opened: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20)
Fear of this horrendous fate is, frankly, why people use the defense mechanism of denial to simply refuse to believe in God, although the way to escape this judgment is detailed in the oldest document in the Bible.
The following parlay expresses the pervasive pagan context of its time – belief in the control of gods over quality of life and death whose favor must be won through obedience to rules, offerings and constant attention via worship.
And that’s exactly what we find in the various denominations in our day and age. Which one is right and which others are wrong?
Fortunately, the Bible sets us straight with a simple answer.
Job: “I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee [in reparation?]?” (Job 7)
“Then answered Bildad the Shuhite / a legalist pastor whether Protestant or Catholic, in booming phrases, with strident arm gestures if he’s Protestant]…doth the Almighty pervert justice?…If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee,…Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, ” (Job 8)
“Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: BUT [defending his imperfection] how should [hu]man[ity] be just[ified] with God?…
- Which removeth the mountains…
- Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
- Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
- Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
- Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south…
- Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him?
- who will say unto him, What doest thou?…
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice…For he is not a [hu]man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
Neither is there any daysman / advocate / mediator betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
Then would I speak, and not fear him…I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me…Thou knowest that I am not wicked…Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit…Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the [over]shadow[ing experience] of death [inescapable consciousness of hunger, thirst, isolation];” (Job 9-10)
Job is describing the afterlife experience of the soul, accurately, as even pagans acknowledged, only without the false hope that pagans put into ameliorating their suffering with offerings to the false gods. Job denied the power / el of the false gods / elohim to provide any such afterlife care, so was left only with the certainty that Elohim / All Powers God had abandoned him.
To properly understand Job’s despair, we must understand the significance of “offspring” in biblical texts in the context of the unique God YHVH’s covenantal promises, messianic prophecies, and communal identity. Even those who believed in the promise of the resurrection of the dead through the saving actions of the seed of the woman confirmed their faith in their own future in their own offspring.
One striking example is the Abrahamic covenant, where the promise of numerous descendants is not merely a biological assurance but a theological cornerstone. The offspring of Abraham are envisaged as the bearers of God’s covenant, reinforced through the narratives of Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel add depth to the understanding of covenantal faithfulness and divine providence.
God’s covenant to David that his lineage would endure forever adds a messianic layer to the term. Prophetic literature also amplifies the theological weight of “offspring,” often linking it with themes of restoration and hope.
Job has lost all his children, ergo, expectation of his own life’s continuance at all.
“Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, [Mystery religion recruiter in a whispery voice] and said, Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?…oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom.” (Job 11)
Job’s annoyance is pulling him out of his funk. I love his sarcasm.
And Job answered [tartly] and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you…
We don’t need God to speak directly to us to reveal himself.
- ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
- and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
- Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:
- and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD / Creator hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind..Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…He also shall be my salvation…
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble…And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one…man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?…man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.”
Yes Job! Stirrings of renewed faith forged in the fires of his anger at his detractors.
“If a man die, shall he live again?
YES!
all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou / God shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.” (Job 13-14)
“Then answered Eliphaz [a Spiritualist, in a hollow voice]…“What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints / angels; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is [hu]man[ity], which drinketh iniquity like water?” (Job 15)
“Then Job answered and said…
miserable comforters are ye all…
- He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me:
- he gnasheth upon me with his teeth…
- They have gaped upon me with their mouth;
- they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully…
- God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked…
- he hath broken me asunder…
- he cleaveth my reins / controlling strings / nerves asunder, and doth not spare;
- he poureth out my gall upon the ground…
- on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
- Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure…
- Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
- My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.” (Job 16)
Where do you think David drew his imagery from?
And what YHVH’s Redeemer AKA Jesus the Christ fulfilled?
Job is clearly foreshadowing the son of David’s rejection by the religious leaders.
“How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?…He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me…All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.” (Job 19)
The paradox is that this is not abandonment by God, but isolation with God, whose choice to engage in a such an intense relationship like a honeymoon, we can only come to know him as intimately as possible by being separated from everyone who would, like Job’s friends, draw us away to them.
And Job breaks through the human suffering to make that connection.
- “God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
- He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
- He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance.
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
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 [physical neurons connecting body with soul] be consumed within me.” (Job 19).
Job’s words were in fact permanently recorded for all posterity throughout the world regardless of race or religion.
The same God who created and energized the entire universe is a personal God who will give eternal life to anyone who engages in a right relationship with him.
Job wasn’t Jewish.
Job didn’t have to invite Jesus Christ to come into his heart as a Christian.
Forget religion! Remember Creation! This Elohim / All Powers Alone “bringeth out to light the shadow of death.” (Job 12)
Job simply believed – not only through the written word, but through the evidence of life and death and resurrection in nature – that the Creator who gave life in the first place is the Only One who can restore it after we’ve lost it, exactly as he promised he would to the Adams when they were the first two humans to lose their lives.
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge / your “friends”? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou ME / don’t waste your breath on them!
Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee…I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not…I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
And Job is accepted / judged “righteous”, not because he has never sinned, but because he accepted himself as sinful, needing the salvation provided by God.
And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath…
Buried in this account is the fact that Job himself is the daysman / intercessor he wanted for his own salvation.
“my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.” (Job 42)
And that is the calling of everyone who trusts in God’s Redeemer for salvation in the life to come.
“work out your own salvation with fear and trembling [from the knowledge of the horrors of eternity without God]. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure [because we can’t bear to separate from our loved ones]…That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life.” (Philippians 2:12-16)
