The Berean Pursuit
And the LORD said to Job:
"Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who argues with God give an answer."
Then Job answered the LORD:
"Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You?
I place my hand over my mouth.
I have spoken once, but I have no answer-
twice, but I have nothing to add."
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
"Now brace yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Would you really annul My justice?
Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
Do you have an arm like God's?
Can you thunder with a voice like His?
Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
and clothe yourself with honor and glory.
Unleash the fury of your wrath;
look on every proud man and bring him low.
Look on every proud man and humble him;
trample the wicked where they stand.
Bury them together in the dust;
imprison them in the grave.
Then I will confess to you
that your own right hand can save you.
Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you.
He feeds on grass like an ox.
See the strength of his loins
and the power in the muscles of his belly.
His tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
His bones are tubes of bronze;
his limbs are rods of iron.
He is the foremost of God's works;
only his Maker can draw the sword against him.
The hills yield him their produce,
while all the beasts of the field play nearby.
He lies under the lotus plants,
hidden among the reeds of the marsh.
The lotus plants conceal him in their shade;
the willows of the brook surround him.
Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;
he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.
Can anyone capture him as he looks on,
or pierce his nose with a snare?
"Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook
or tie down his tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he beg you for mercy
or speak to you softly?
Will he make a covenant with you
to take him as a slave for life?
Can you pet him like a bird
or put him on a leash for your maidens?
Will traders barter for him
or divide him among the merchants?
Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
If you lay a hand on him,
you will remember the battle and never repeat it!
Surely hope of overcoming him is false.
Is not the sight of him overwhelming?
No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan.
Then who is able to stand against Me?
Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.
I cannot keep silent about his limbs,
his power and graceful form.
Who can strip off his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a bridle?
Who can open his jaws,
ringed by his fearsome teeth?
His rows of scales are his pride,
tightly sealed together.
One scale is so near to another
that no air can pass between them.
They are joined to one another;
they clasp and cannot be separated.
His snorting flashes with light,
and his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
Firebrands stream from his mouth;
fiery sparks shoot forth!
Smoke billows from his nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames pour from his mouth.
Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay leaps before him.
The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
His chest is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!
When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they withdraw before his thrashing.
The sword that reaches him has no effect,
nor does the spear or dart or arrow.
He regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
No arrow can make him flee;
slingstones become like chaff to him.
A club is regarded as straw,
and he laughs at the sound of the lance.
His undersides are jagged potsherds,
spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.
He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;
he makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
He leaves a glistening wake behind him;
one would think the deep had white hair!
Nothing on earth is his equal-
a creature devoid of fear!
He looks down on all the haughty;
he is king over all the proud."
Then Job replied to the LORD:
"I know that You can do all things
and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
You asked, 'Who is this
who conceals My counsel without knowledge?'
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak.
I will question you, and you shall inform Me.'
My ears had heard of You,
but now my eyes have seen You.
Therefore I retract my words,
and I repent in dust and ashes."
After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has. So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has."
So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job's request.
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions. All his brothers and sisters and prior acquaintances came and dined with him in his house. They consoled him and comforted him over all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. And each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
So the LORD blessed Job's latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. No women as beautiful as Job's daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers.
After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, old and full of years.
Hallelujah!
Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him for His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with the sound of the horn;
praise Him with the harp and lyre.
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;
praise Him with strings and flute.
Praise Him with clashing cymbals;
praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Hallelujah!
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
Then the angel said to me, "These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place."
"Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book."
And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. But he said to me, "Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"
Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near. Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy."
"Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates. But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star."
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let the one who hears say, "Come!" And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.
Amen.