Page 13 - Job
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as you say the name Job, everybody seems to know that his book is the
oldest book in the Bible. That is a fact everybody seems to know. In fact it
might be the oldest book in the world. There is not, according to many
experts, an older book to be found anywhere than the book of Job.
I am not going to attempt to prove that, but let’s look at some evidence
that has led historians in this direction. In the last verses of chapter 22 of
Genesis it shows that one of Job’s relatives was Abraham’s brother
Nahor. He happened to have two sons that show up in the book of Job.
So it appears that he lived around the time of Abraham. The fact that he
was offering sacrifices as the head and priest of his family is consistent
with that time period as well. It says that he lived one hundred and forty
years after his trials. Living an inordinately long lifetime was common in
those days. So that dates him way back.
Also the fact that his wealth was determined by the number of sheep and
camels reinforces the theory. In all of his speeches as well as those of his
four friends there is never any reference made to the nation of Israel. Not
one time is there any mention of Mosaic Law or the Mosaic Dispensation.
It is amazing to be silent about all that, and so we presume the Book of
Job took place before all these things.
God took the antiquity of Job to make the fossilization of this message so
very precious. The first thing it shows me, and I am going to mention two
things, is God’s wonderful provision for Old Testament saints. Isn’t that
amazing? I used to feel sorry for those poor Old Testament saints because
they did not have the whole Bible. I was living in the full meridian of the
completion of the Canon. I was living in the blazing light of God’s
completed Bible, and they weren’t. They did not have Romans, Galatians
or Ephesians or any of the New Testament books. So I said, oh, poor
David, he had so little. Poor Daniel, he did not have what I have. Well, I
was very wrong about that. They had everything we have! They had it in
picture form. They had the whole oak in the acorn, in the seed. I am
going to show you how much knowledge Job had. Do not forget that at
this point Genesis has not been written. Exodus is not written. No book in
the Bible is written. As a matter of fact, the Book of Job is not written. Job
is just living. Check out this list of Bible principles I have found in the
wonderful Book ofJob:
The Omnipotence of God: 5:9, 6:4, 6:14, 9:5.
The Omnipresence of God: 11:11, 21:22, 3:10.
The Eternal Nature of God: 10:5, 27:2.
The Holiness of God: 4:17, 15:17, 25:5.
God the Creator of all things: 10:8 and 35:10.
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