27 ¶
Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully
imagine against me. 28 For ye say, Where
is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
29 Have ye not asked them that go by the
way? and do ye not know their tokens, 30
That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be
brought forth to the day of wrath. 31
Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he
hath done? 32 Yet shall he be brought to
the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. 33
The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall
draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. 34 How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in
your answers there remaineth falsehood?
Job says that
he knows their thoughts and they have wrongfully contrived things against him.
They have concluded that he is wicked and said that he has faced the day of God’s
wrath. They tell him of the future they expect awaits him in his wickedness.
They are not much of a comfort and, he says, they are completely wrong.
Here is an indication that Job’s status was
more than merely a man of great wealth. A prince in the Bible carries many
connotations.
A prince is a
ruler, a judge, and a deliverer. Compare these two verses, one from the Old
Testament a reference to it from the New. Note the word substitution by the
Holy Spirit guiding the writers and the translators.
Exodus 2:14
And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou
to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely
this thing is known.
Acts 7:35
This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge?
the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel
which appeared to him in the bush.
We now get a
clearer picture of Job’s position in that society. There are more hints given
in chapter 29 and elsewhere although the comparisons may be metaphorical. Job
may have been a ruler. His friends have linked him with the wicked as an
explanation of why he has suffered and done so falsely. Under the Law given to
Moses there was an admonition against what they have done.
Exodus 22:28
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Paul alluded to
this verse which, by word substitution, gives us a definition of what it means
to curse.
Acts 23:5
Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for
it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
Jude also gave
an interesting warning.
Jude 1:8 ¶
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion,
and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet
Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about body of Moses, durst not bring against him a
railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which
they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things
they corrupt themselves.
Be careful of
what you say about your political leaders without knowledge but with only
innuendo and gossip as your proof. The internet is notorious for coming up with
outrageous accusations against leaders without actual proof other than, “it
must be so,” or, “there is no other explanation.” This does not honor God and
is not a good testimony toward unbelievers.
Claiming inside
information on things which it is impossible for one to have and linking things
together just because they happen within close relation in time or place to
each other are common errors of both the uneducated and the educated carnal
person, Christian or otherwise.
The Christian
must accept that there are things he or she is not given to know and that
drawing conclusions that cast aspersions on someone without sufficient knowledge
to back them up is not glorifying to God. It also makes you look like a nutcase
rather than a person of sound faith.
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