In this compelling episode, we delve into the heartfelt reflections of Job as he traverses from the days of favor and prosperity to the depths of despair and humiliation. Journey through Job chapters 29 and 30 with the insightful commentary of Allen J. Huth, who shares his personal reflections and life applications drawn from over three decades of Bible journaling. Discover how Job’s unwavering faith amidst suffering serves as a testament to trusting in God’s sovereignty.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Alan J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
Today we’re in Job chapters 29 and 30. Job has been speaking since chapter 26. He continues his discourse, summarizing his defense in these two chapters. Let’s listen in.
Job 29 And Job again took up his discourse, and said, O that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me, when my steps were washed with butter and the rock poured out for me streams of oil. When I went out to the gate of the city, when I prepared my seat in the square, the young men saw me and withdrew and the aged rose and stood. The princes refrained from talking and laid their hand on their mouth. The voice of the nobles was hushed and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved, because I delivered the poor who cried for help and the fatherless who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth. Then I thought, ìI shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.î My roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches, my glory fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand. Men listened to me and waited and kept silence for my counsel. After I spoke, they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them. They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain. I smiled on them when they had no confidence, and the light of my face they did not cast down. I chose their way and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners. But now they laugh at me, men who are younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. What could I gain from the strength of their hands, men whose vigor is gone? Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation. They pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes and the roots of the broom tree for their food. They are driven out from human company. They shout after them as after a thief. In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell, in holes of the earth and of the rocks. Among the bushes they bray, under the nettles they huddle together. A senseless, a nameless brood, they have been whipped out of the land. And now I have become their song. I am a byword to them. They abhor me. They keep aloof from me. They do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me. Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. On my right hand, the rabble rise. They push away my feet. They cast up against me their ways of destruction. They break up my path. They promote my calamity. They need no one to help them. As through a wide breach they come, amid the crash they roll on. Terrors are turned upon me, my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. And now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold of me. The night wracks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest. With great force my garment is disfigured. It binds me about like the collar of my tunic. God has cast me into the mire and I have become like dust and ashes. I cry to you for help and you do not answer me. I stand and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me. You lift me up on the wind. You make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living. Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand and in his disaster cry for help? Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? But when I hoped for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came. My inward parts are in turmoil and never still. Days of affliction come to meet me. I go about darkened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches. My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat. My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.
After listening to those words, does your heart just take a beat for Job? Back in 1984, when I was 29 years old, on the day I read these chapters, before I wrote about the chapters, I wrote this. Thanks that the fear of the Lord is wisdom. Departing from evil is understanding. This is why our nation cannot make any tough decisions anymore. Because we don’t fear God. Therefore, we don’t have wisdom. Friends, that was 1984. Way back then I wrote, Our nation can’t make any tough decisions anymore because we don’t fear God, therefore we don’t have wisdom. Over 30 years have passed. We haven’t made much progress, have we? Concerning Job 29 and 30, I wrote that year, Job remembers the good old days and laments the current condition. Praise God for his strength and testimony. The Lord will rescue him for his faithfulness. In 1997 at 42 years old, I read Job 29 through 34 on the same day, and I wrote one line. Job finishes his defense. In 2015, at 60 years old, I read Job 28 and 29 on one day, and chapters 30 and 31 on the next day. Concerning 29 and 30, I wrote, Job remembers when God watched over him, and God’s friendship was over his household. We are in our prime when we walk with God and He with us. Job experienced the blessings of God, the favor of God, and he longed for it again. I too have experienced the blessings and the favor of God, His sovereignty in my life, and I long to stay there. The next day, concerning chapter 30, I wrote, Job contrasts these days of suffering with past days of success. We do the same, remembering the good old days. He always understands. God has loosened my cord and humbled me. Quoting verse 11. Quoting verse 19. God has cast me into the mire. And I continue to write. He gets that. God is in control, good or bad. Yet he does not cry out against him. He cries to him. job twenty nine was a summary of the good old days we get a glimpse into job’s character he said in verse four he was in his prime when the friendship of god was upon my tent when the almighty was yet with me in verse seven and following it was clear when he went to the gate of the city he was well respected He helped the poor. He helped the widows. He helped the blind. He helped the lame. He came against unrighteousness. In verse 18, he projected his future like a lot of us. He thought he would die in his nest. And in verse 20, my glory fresh with me. Yes, Job lived a good life, and he thought he would die peacefully. But chapter 30 reminds us that is not what happened. It’s a recap of how Job lost it all, summarized in a couple of verses. Verse 19 says, And verse 20 says, I cry to you for help and you do not answer me. What a state of desperation. How would you feel if you cried out to God and you knew he wouldn’t answer you? But Job is not finished. In chapter 31, he gives his final appeal. Until then, remind ourselves of the good old days under the favor and the blessings of God. May you be experiencing that in your life even this day. It’s a place like Job described in verses 2 and 3 of chapter 29. In the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime when the friendship of God was upon my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me. Oh, may that be the case for your life right now. And may it always be. By God’s mercy, may we not have to suffer what Job has suffered. Father, we thank you for your love for us, your mercy for us, your favor, your grace, your presence as you watch over us. Glory to God as you shine light through the darkness of our lives. May it ever be for each and every one of us. But Lord, if you have a different course, may we be strengthened by the testimony of Job, your faithful servant. May we be able to stand strong in the fiery furnace. May we, like him, survive the test of our faith. So let it be written. So let it be done. In your name. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Why did this happen to Job? No fault of his own, right? And what is happening to you may not be your fault either. You may not understand what is happening to you like when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I said, why me, Lord? Then I thought, why not me? The question is not why is this happening to me? The question is where do you go for help? Do you go to your friends like Job’s friends? They did not know the whole story. They give advice without knowledge, but they are doing the best they can with what they know. Regardless of what you’re going through, there are three things you can do. One, understand God’s sovereignty. He works behind the scenes, as we will see in the book of Ruth. I understood God’s sovereignty after a car accident at age 15 could have taken my life. Number two, be careful who you get advice from. Your friends don’t know what God knows, so keep going to God like Job did. He continued to plead his case to the Lord. Number three, hold fast as Job does. He does not waver or curse God or blame God. And number four, keep going. There is an answer. Job got his. You will too. To get a written record of these recordings, visit EzraProject.net and order a copy of the Day by Day Through the Bible book, The Writings of the Old Testament Historical Books. There you will find the text of these programs, so you can refer back or study the material again. That’s EzraProject.net. Order your copy today.
In this compelling episode, we delve into the heartfelt reflections of Job as he traverses from the days of favor and prosperity to the depths of despair and humiliation. Journey through Job chapters 29 and 30 with the insightful commentary of Allen J. Huth, who shares his personal reflections and life applications drawn from over three decades of Bible journaling. Discover how Job’s unwavering faith amidst suffering serves as a testament to trusting in God’s sovereignty.
