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| JOB |
| Explanatory Footnotes - page 3 |
| echoed in a verse from Proverbs: "Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart" (25:20). 19:25 An Outburst of Hope In the midst of his deepest agony, Job expressed astonishing words of hope. This prophecy expands on two other flashes of hope (9:33; 16:19-21). Job did not try to hide his despair and anguish, but, as this verse shows, the trials never crushed all his hope. 21:7 Some Wicked People Do Prosper In most of his speeches Job accepted the general principle that evil people suffer punishment in this life. But in this speech he began to question that theory. He cited examples of wicked people who lived comfortable, successful lives. His meandering thoughts proved so convincing to him that he concluded his friends' advice was "nonsense" (verse 34). 22:6 The Attacks Get Personal Unable to convince Job through philosophizing, Eliphaz shifted to more personal attacks against Job's behavior. These arguments were perhaps the unkindest of all, and Job specifically refuted each one in his closing speech (chapters 29-31). 25:6 Where Is God? In the speech recorded in chapters 23-24, Job movingly described the feeling of God's absence at his time of greatest need. God must also seem absent to the poor, the fatherless, and all those suffering without relief, he said. Bildad replied with the shortest speech in the book (chapter 25). He questioned whether any person ("who is but a maggot . . . a worm") had the right to challenge God so boldly. 26:14 A Faint Whisper of God The book of Job contains some of the best nature poetry ever |