Job chapters 1-42 Star Chart: Job was Jobad of Zerah of Bozrah, king of Edom (Gen. 36:33). Eusebius also says he was son of Esau (p.383, Prep. For Gospel). Job built the (red radius) Great Pyramid in c.1656 BC; Are the pyramids just tombs "kings ... built (as) desolate places (chorbah -- mausoleums) for themselves" (Job 3:14)? Hebrew charabeth or parabeth derives from Egyptian peram (pyramid) meaning "lofty; mountain." (Great Pyramid)

His age can be figured out by simple addition of 140 years after his afflictions (Job 42:16-17) plus about 40 more years before his afflictions to account for ten grown-up children settled in their own houses (Job 1:2-4,13) making his full life to be at least 180 years long. Yet compared to his fathers, his days are "but a shadow" (8:8-9). He must have lived around the time of Jacob since Job used pieces of money called "keshitah" (Job 42:11) and Jacob also bought a parcel of a field from the children of Hamor and paid for it, not by weight, but gave a hundred "keshitahs" (Gen. 33:19). This money wasn't in use in Abraham's day since he paid for the field of Ephron by weight in silver, not number of pieces (Gen. 23:16). Therefore, Job was not as ancient as Abraham, but his long life will not permit us to suppose him much younger than Jacob.

In lower Egypt "sh" (Suphis of 4th Dynasty of Manetho) was substituted for "kh" of upper Egypt (Khufu of monuments). According to Manetho, "Suphis (Job) reigned 63 years: he built the largest pyramid, which Herodotus says, was constructed by Cheops (Her. 2:124). He was arrogant toward the gods, and wrote the sacred book, which is regarded by the Egyptians as a work of great importance" (Cory's Fragments, p.102). Suphis lived in the 4th Dynasty.

Job (Orion) offered (Taurus & Aries) burnt offerings for all his (Gemini & Auriga) children (1:5). Clockwise from when "the (Taurus) oxen were plowing, and the (Aries) asses feeding beside them: And the (Perseus) Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away" till "they have slain the (Gemini) servants with the edge of the sword" (1:14-15) "when his (Gemini) sons and his (Gemini) daughters were eating and drinking (red radius) wine in their eldest brother's (red radius) house" (birthday celebration -- 3:1-3)(1:13) is 70° corresponding to "seven sons" (1:2), "seven thousand sheep" (1:3) "seven days and seven nights" (2:13) and "seven bullocks and seven rams" (42:8). Notice also 30° corresponding to "three daughters" (1:2), "three thousand camels" (1:3). Notice also 40° corresponding to "four generations" (42:16). From when "the (solar) fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the (Aries) sheep" till it also burned up "the (Gemini) servants, and consumed them" (1:16) is 70° also. From when "the (Perseus) Chaldeans made out three (red radius) bands, and fell upon the (Taurus) camels, and have carried them away" till they also slew "the (Gemini) servants with the edge of the sword" (1:17) is again 70°. From when "thy (Gemini) sons and thy (Gemini) daughters were eating and drinking (red radius) wine in their eldest brother's house (birthday celebration -- 3:1-3): And, behold, there came a great (Milky Way) wind from the wilderness, and smote the four (red radius) corners of the house, and it fell upon the young (Gemini) men, and they are (red radius) dead"(1:18-19) is 360°. An (Orion) "messenger" (1:14) in each case told (Auriga) Job, "I only am escaped alone to tell thee" (1:15,16,17,19).

"Satan (Cetus) ... smote Job with sore (star) boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a (lunar) potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he (Auriga) sat down among the (Milky Way) ashes" (2:7-8). "Is there any taste in the (lunar) white of an (solar) egg?" (6:6) "Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift (Argo) ships" (9:25-26). "Thou huntest me as a fierce (Argo or Cetus) lion" (10:16). "His (Gemini) archers compass me round about" (16:13). "Man ... is a (lunar crescent) worm" (25:6). "The spirit of God is in my (dark lunar) nostrils" (27:3). "God forbid that I should justify you ... My (solar golden) righteousness I (Orion) hold fast, and will not let it go; my (solar golden) heart shall not reproach me as long as I live" (27:5-6). "His lamp shined upon my head ... by his light I walked through darkness" (29:3). "They have also let loose the (Auriga) bridle before me" (30:11). "Let me be weighed in an even (red radius) (lunar) balance" (31:6). "The beasts go into (lunar black) dens" (37:8). "Who laid" the (red radius) "cornerstone" "of the earth" "Whereupon are its foundations fastened?" (38:4-6)? "The ostrich ... leaveth her eggs ... and forgetteth that the foot may crush them" (39:13-15). "Canst thou (red radius) draw out (Cetus) leviathan with an (lunar) hook" (41:1)?



Was Job's Suffering Due To His Sins or Not?

Eliphaz (from Ishmael's son Teman -- Gen. 25:15) said, "Who ever perished (like you Job) being innocent" (4:7)? "Are not thy wickedness great and thine iniquities infinite?" (22:5) Bildad (from Keturah's son Shuah -- Gen. 25:2) said, "God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evildoers" (8:20) (so you must be guilty of something). Zophar, king of the Minnaei, said, "God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves" (11:6) (since you are being afflicted). Why were these three accusers incorrect (42:7)? Elihu the son of Barachel ha-Buzi (from Nahor's son Buz -- Gen. 22:21) apparently was innocent (Job 42:7).

Job, the son of Esau (p.383 Eusebius Prep. For Gospel) responded sarcastically, "Yes, I realize you know everything! All wisdom will die with you" (12:2; Tay). "My righteousness will I hold fast. God forbid that I should justify you." (27:6). Job had no sin (Job 1:8). He was misrepresented by them (19:7). Job pointed out that life isn't fair. The wicked sometimes live long and prosper and die in peace (21:2-7), in health (21:9), with plenty of cattle (21:10), and numerous happy offspring (21:11-12), and an easy death (21:13) even though they reject true religion (21:14-15). Other times the wicked are punished (21:16-21). So life is random (21:22-26; Matt. 5:45; Heb. 11:37-39; 1 Tim. 6:5) -- until the Judgment Day (21:27). Therefore, no certain conclusion can be drawn regarding whether men are good or bad based on the amount of suffering they endure in this life. Good men are sometimes delivered; and the wicked are sometimes punished. Other times the wicked prosper and the good suffer. In Ecclesiastes 10:6, we read, "Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth" (10:6-7). In John 9:2 the disciples asked the Lord, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" His answer was, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be manifest in him."

Elihu condemned Job's friends for blaming him for crimes they couldn't prove. "They had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job" (32:3). He confirmed the truth that virtue is not uniformly rewarded, nor vice uniformly punished in this life (32:21). It is true that we do reap what we sow -- eventually (Ps. 1; Gal. 6:7). God can do no wrong, and will render to every man according to his work (34:11). And again, "For he will not lay upon man more than is right; that he should enter into judgment with God" (34:23). But God tries and tests good men like Job and proves them, seeing what they can do and what they can take (1 Pet. 1:7; Job 23:10). Job will come "forth as gold" (23:10). Suffering can occur for many reasons (John 9:1-7). Trials may come because God wants to know how a person will react (Gen. 22:1-12). Suffering helps us become spiritually strong (2 Cor. 12:7-10; Heb. 12:4-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 4:12-19). Does that make God unfair? God doesn't have an obligation to explain himself to man. Sometimes suffering is beneficial. No pain, no gain. (Gen. 18:25; Rom. 9:20; 11:33-34; 2 Cor. 4:17; Rom. 8:18; 1 Pet. 2:21-23; Job 23:3-4; 31:37-40; Job 1:21; 2:10; 13:15). Prosperity and success are not owed to the righteous immediately. Its not merely cause and effect right away. A future judgment will redress all these irregularities, when ultimately the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked punished. Even in this life, after the test, God gave Job twice as much as he had before (42:10).

"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men (Eliphaz, Bildad & Zophar) shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets" (Luke 6:21-23). "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14). "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Ps. 34:19). And "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you" (1 Pet. 4:12).  Ecclesiastes 7:15 says: “In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteouness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.” Cf. also b. Shabbat 33b, “The righteous are taken by the iniquity of the generation.”

"But ask now even the BEASTS - they shall teach it thee; And the BIRDS of heaven - they shall declare it to thee: Or look thoughtfully to the GROUND - it shall teach it thee; And the FISH of the sea shall tell it thee. Who would not recognise in all this That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this, In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?" (Job 12:7-9). Job may be here giving the proof that life isn't fair. It doesn't always goes well with good men, and badly with evil men. Instead, good men are afflicted, and wicked men prosper; something similar to the BEASTS. For instance those BEASTS that are the most harmless and innocent, and most useful and beneficial, are devoured by predators, as sheep and lambs are victims to lions, wolves, and bears. Regarding BIRDS, harmless doves and chickens are devoured by hawks and vultures; and the small FISH by larger predatory FISH (see Hab. 1:13). Moreover, the gold, silver, and diamonds mined from the GROUND are, generally speaking, the property of the evil worldly men who exploit the earth and farmer poison the GROUND with pesticides and herbicides and deplete the soil of nutrients.

Righteousness alone makes life a success. Without it, it is a miserable failure. Whatever wealth, fame, and pleasure are obtained, they mean nothing. Righteousness is its own glory and reward. "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning." "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." "Everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My Name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

The Odour of Affliction

The good man suffers but to gain,
And every virtue springs from pain;
As aromatic plants bestow
No spicy fragrance where they grow;
But crushed and trodden to the ground,
Diffuse their balmy sweets around. -- Goldsmith

"Forgetting God, in bitter shame it ends;
Like trusting a cobweb, which an insect rends." -- Job 8:14


"It is a strong argument for a state of retribution hereafter, that in this world
virtuous persons are very often unfortunate, and vicious persons prosperous."
-- Addison

"Though the mills of God grind slowly,
yet they grind exceedingly small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness he grinds all." -- Logan


Herod the Great -- the cruel slayer of the innocents, and first
persecutor of Christianity, was overwhelmed with agonizing
physical disease; and his numerous family was extinct in a
hundred years. Pontius Pilate, who condemned Christ, was
soon after expelled from office, and committed suicide. The
infamous Nero, after slaying thousands of eminent Christians,
among them Peter and Paul, -- attempted to take away his
own life, but failing through cowardice, called others to his
aid. How true are the words of the Bible respecting the foes of
the Almighty -- "His enemies shall lick the dust" and "whoso
diggeth a pit shall fall therein." -- E. Foster

Frankincense, when it is put into the fire, giveth the greater
perfume; spice, if it be pounded, smelleth the sweeter; the
earth when it is torn up with the plough, becometh more
fruitful; the seed in the ground, after frost and winter storms,
springeth the ranker; the nigher the vine is pruned to the
stock, the greater grape it yieldeth; fine gold is better when it
is cast in the fire; rough stones, when hewing, are squared for
building. These are familiar examples to show the benefit
which the children of God receive from tribulation. -- Bp. Jewel


"Till from the straw the flail the corn doth beat,
Until the chaff be purged from the wheat,
Yea, till the mill the grain in pieces tear,
The richness of the flour will scarce appear:
So, till men's persons great afflictions touch,
If worth be found, their worth is not so much;
Because, like wheat in straw, they have not yet
That value which in threshing they may get;
For till the bruising-flails of God's corrections
Have threshed out of us our vain affections;
Till those corruptions which do misbecome us
Are by Thy Sacred Spirit winnowed from us;
Until from us the straw of worldly treasures,
Till all the dusty chaff of empty pleasures,
Yea, till His flail upon us He doth lay,
To thresh the husk of this our flesh away,
And leave the soul uncovered; nay, yet more
Till God shall make our very spirit poor,
We shall not up to highest wealth aspire,
But then we shall, and that is my desire." -- Abp. Trench

Grapes must be crushed to make wine
Diamonds form under pressure
Olives are pressed to release oil
Seeds grow in darkness
Whenever you feel crushed, under pressure, in the dark,
you're being transformed into something better.




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