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God Is Greater Than Man: A Mystical Interpretation of Job
God Is Greater Than Man: A Mystical Interpretation of Job
God Is Greater Than Man: A Mystical Interpretation of Job
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God Is Greater Than Man: A Mystical Interpretation of Job

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The book of Job is one of the most widely misunderstood books in the Bible. Bible scholars attempt to use Job to answer the question of why God allows mankind to suffer. But the book of Job is not about mankind. It’s about how God creates and increases the revelation of Himself in the lives of His people. The book of Job reveals to us the means by which God crucifies the old, Adamic nature, and establishes His own nature within us. The following passages, spoken by Job, embody the work God does in every son He brings to maturity.

8 ¶ "Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
10 "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

To come forth as gold is indicative of bearing the Lord's nature. Gold in the Scriptures always symbolizes the nature of God. Peter tells us that God has given us great and precious promises that we might become partakers of the divine nature (2nd Pet. 1:4).

The book of Job gives the pattern by which God creates in us a greater capacity for Himself to dwell. Anyone who has ever experienced the fiery trials and dealings of the Lord will be able to identify the pattern we are going to examine in Job.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherBookBaby
Release dateOct 29, 2015
ISBN9780989989855
God Is Greater Than Man: A Mystical Interpretation of Job

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    God Is Greater Than Man - Roger Dixon

    noted.

    Chapter 1

    1 ¶ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

    2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

    3 His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

    4 ¶ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

    5 When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually.

    The book opens with some background concerning Job. He was blameless, upright and feared the Lord. He was very prosperous and the greatest of all the men in the East. He was also a very meticulous man, carefully serving God and ministering to his family. As we shall see from the next passages, he was blameless before God.

    6 ¶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

    7 The LORD said to Satan, From where do you come? Then Satan answered the LORD and said, From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.

    8 The LORD said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.

    9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

    10 "Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

    11 But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.

    12 Then the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him. So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

    Verse eight is important. Have you considered my servant Job? God asks Satan. Here we see that it is God who initiates everything that is going to happen to Job. God points out to the devil how blameless and upright Job is. God is not bragging about Job. He is not admiring Job and pointing out to Satan what a loyal servant He has. When Satan responds that Job only serves and fears God because of all the blessings and immunities God has bestowed upon him, it does not become an occasion for God to prove to Satan how righteous Job is. God was not interested in testing the level Job was living on. God was interested in bringing Job into a higher level. Thus, we see that God was baiting Satan. He knew exactly what He wanted to accomplish in Job’s life, and He used Satan to accomplish it.

    13 ¶ Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

    14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

    15 and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

    16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

    17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

    18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

    19 and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

    20 ¶ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

    21 He said, Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.

    22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

    In the first phase of God’s dealings upon Job all that he owned was taken. Not only were his physical possessions taken, but his children as well. His children symbolize the fruit that had been generated in Job’s life up until that time. That which he had produced was lost. This corresponds with Phi. 3:7–8:

    7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

    8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

    Paul suffered the loss of all things in order to gain a higher relationship with God. What he had attained had to die in order for him to come into something deeper. Suffering is involved because it is not in our Adamic nature to willfully give up what is dear to us. In verse 10 Paul cries out, That I may know Him… Well, Paul, don’t you know the Lord now? You are an apostle, you’ve written most of what is to become the New Testament, how can you say, ‘That I may know Him?’ Paul was hungering to know the Lord in a deeper way. Yes, he knew the Lord, but he really wanted to know Him! So it is with us. There is no coming into anything new or higher until the old is first put to death. The old must pass away before the new comes. This is not just a one time occurrence; it is what we experience each time we take a new step in God.

    Through all that Job lost he did not sin or blame God. He fell on his face and worshipped. While quite admirable, it still only represented what Job had attained on the current level he was living. As we shall see, Job will be pushed beyond his limits. It’s only after we are tried beyond what we have attained can God reveal Himself to us in a deeper way. Paul said once that he despaired even of life that he might learn to trust not in himself but in God who raises the dead. And that’s just what takes place in God’s dealing with us as sons; we die to one level and then God raises us from the dead to live on another.

    8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;

    9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead…(2nd Cor.1:8–9).

    Chapter 2

    1 ¶ Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

    2 The LORD said to Satan, Where have you come from? Then Satan answered the LORD and said, From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.

    3 The LORD said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.

    4 Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.

    5 However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.

    6 So the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.

    7 ¶ Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

    8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.

    In verse three we find God baiting Satan again. Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause. God seems to be bragging about Job. There is no one like him on the earth, God says. God points out how Job still holds fast his integrity. But the Lord is not really concerned about Job’s integrity. God knows what He wants to accomplish in Job, and He knows what Satan’s response will be.

    The second phase of God’s dealings with Job is against his body (vs. 4–8). This holds spiritual significance for us. In the first phase the Lord touched all that Job had produced through his labors. We could call that his soul life. Now, God is touching his body.

    9 Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!

    10 But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

    11 ¶ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.

    12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

    13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

    Job’s wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die! Job’s response in verse 10 is noble. He still does not sin with his lips. We must ask, however, What is noble? How valuable is Job’s integrity to God? Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said, You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. Even our personal integrity before God, which seems to have merit, must be eliminated if we are to perceive the Lord on a higher level. This will become clear in later chapters as God begins to speak to Job.

    Chapter 3

    1 ¶ Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

    2 And Job said,

    3 "Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

    4 "May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.

    5 "Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

    6 "As for that night, let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come into the number of the months.

    7 "Behold, let that night be barren; Let no joyful shout enter it.

    8 "Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

    9 "Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; Let it wait for light but have none, And let it not see the breaking dawn;

    10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.

    11 ¶ "Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire?

    12 "Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck?

    13 "For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

    14 With kings and with counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

    15 Or with princes who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver.

    16 "Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light.

    17 "There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest.

    18 "The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

    19 "The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.

    20 ¶ "Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul,

    21 Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

    22 Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave?

    23 "Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?

    24 "For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water.

    25 "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me.

    26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.

    Job is in such misery he curses the day of his birth. Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me, and why the breasts, that I should suck? For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest. Job is saying that if he had never been born he wouldn’t be in the mess he is in. If we are aspiring to mature sonship in Christ, then Job’s words apply to us as well. If we had never been born from above we would not be in the mess we are in either. But the one important truth that we must always remember is found in Heb. 12:

    4 ¶ You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

    5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;

    6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."

    7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

    8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

    It’s the love of God toward us that scourges us. It’s His great love that puts us through the suffering that is necessary to produce sons.

    Verses 20–23 are very significant.

    20 ¶ "Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul,

    21 Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

    22 Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave?

    23 "Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?

    Mystically, these passages speak of the life of Christ. His light is given to those who experience His sufferings. His life is experienced by those whose souls tastes bitterness. It’s only when we long for death and dig for it more than for hidden treasures that we find His life on the higher levels. The death we seek isn’t physical death, but the death of the carnal flesh nature. When we find the grave we rejoice greatly. As God works the cross into our lives we rejoice to see His nature being created in us.

    Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in? When God begins to deal with us our way becomes hidden. We become isolated from all that is dear to us. This is exactly what Job experienced in these first three chapters. God has a way of hedging us in so that we cannot escape what He is working into our lives. We will cry for death again and again until His purposes are wrought within us.

    24 "For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water.

    25 "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me.

    26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.

    Job’s groaning came at the sight of his food. Everything that sustains us in the natural realm must lose its savor. That which we have taken comfort in is taken away. Even the good things God has blessed us with dry up to make way for the new. When God begins to deal with us, there is no rest on the former level, only turmoil.

    Chapter 4

    Now comes phase three. Job’s friends show up. In the beginning they are sympathetic. His friends weep and attempt to comfort him. But then things heat up as they begin to accuse and confront him. This becomes Job’s biggest vexation as he grapples with why such terrible things are happening to him. In the first two phases he simply accepted what came and worshipped God. But when his friends begin to imply his troubles are somehow his own fault, it becomes too much for Job. We could say this is now the dealings of God upon Job’s spirit. The dealings go to the root of Job’s self-identity because Job considers himself a faithful servant of God. Through these three stages of Job’s affliction we see that God’s dealings upon the life of a son effect spirit, soul, and body.

    1 ¶ Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

    2 "If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?

    3 "Behold you have admonished many, And you have strengthened weak hands.

    4 "Your words have helped the tottering to stand, And you have strengthened feeble knees.

    5 "But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; It touches you, and you are dismayed.

    6 "Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

    7 ¶ "Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

    8 "According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it.

    In verses 1–4 Eliphaz tells Job that he has been a great ministry to many people in need. But in verses 5–8 Eliphaz begins to blame Job for his troubles. He has no inkling of what is really taking place in Job’s life. This is exactly what the mockers did to Jesus when He was hanging on the cross.

    Mark 15:

    27 And they crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

    28 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, And He was numbered with transgressors.

    29 And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

    30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"

    31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself.

    32 Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe! And those who were crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him.

    Eliphaz also says to Job, Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed? He is wrong. Jesus was innocent and perished. Jesus was upright but was destroyed (Isa. 53:8). Jesus’ suffering was not related to any wrongdoing. Jesus’ life was ordained of the Father, and none of those living on an earthly plane could understand. So it is with us. When God begins to bring Christ’s cross into our lives the human reasoning exhibited by Eliphaz must be abandoned. The mocking and accusations of the carnal mind are to be rejected; Jesus said it all when He cried to the Father, Into Thy hands I commit My spirit.

    Eliphaz continues to speak:

    12 ¶ "Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it.

    13 "Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,

    14 Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake.

    15 "Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up.

    16 "It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice:

    17 ‘Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

    18 ‘He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error.

    19 ‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!

    20 ‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever.

    21 ‘Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’

    Notice carefully verses 17–19. Eliphaz puts forth the question, Can mankind be pure before His maker? He says God puts no trust in His servants and against even His angels He charges error. Eliphaz then asks, How much more them who dwell in houses of clay? Mystically, those who dwell in houses of clay are those who bear the earthen, fallen nature of Adam. The fallen nature cannot be righteous before God. It can never be justified in His sight. It must be crucified. What’s being revealed here is the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. By His grace we can begin to

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