Monday, February 21, 2011

2 Kings 2:11-18

Transfiguration Sermon Exegesis

2 KINGS 2:11

וַיְהִי הֵמָּה הֹלְכִים הָלוֹךְ וְדַבֵּר וְהִנֵּה רֶכֶב־אֵשׁ וְסוּסֵי אֵשׁ וַיַּפְרִדוּ בֵּין שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיַּעַל אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם׃

As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared chariots of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

The סְעָרָה "whirlwind" that took Elijah to heaven is the same word used for the storm from which God speaks in Job 40:6. Ezekiel also saw a סְעָרָה "windstorm" at the beginning of his prophecy (Ezek. 1:4), and the frightening storms of the Mediterranean (and the Red Sea?) are described this way as well (Psalm 107:25; 148:8).

רֶכֶב is a collective term, "chariotry, chariots." The chariots, usually depicted as a vehicle for Elijah, simply separated Elijah from Elisha. The mistake of assuming that the chariot was Elijah's vehicle goes back at least as far as the apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus: "You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire" (Ecclus. 48:9). When God's holiness approaches mankind, he protects people by setting limits (Exodus 19:12; 30:20) or by sending his angels (Genesis 3:24) or by other means. The chariot and horses of fire appear to have served this purpose to protect Elisha from what was happening to his master.

Was Elijah dead after this? The answer is that, like Enoch before him (Genesis 5:24; Hebrew 11:5), Elijah was translated alive into heaven. The common term in the Bible and apocrypha is simply "taken up." "Enoch pleased the Lord, and was taken up; he was an example of repentance to all generations" (μετετέθη, Sirach 44:16); "No one like Enoch has been created on earth, for he was taken up from the earth" (ἀνελήμφθη, Sirach 49:14); "Elijah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven" (ἀνελήμφθη, 1 Maccabees 2:58).

Elijah's body was no longer his sinful body; it would certainly have been transformed into the holy, sinless body we will all have at the resurrection. The only difference between Elijah assumption into heaven and our own on the Last Day is that his happened at the end of his life without the intervening rest stop of death. His soul was never separated from his body, and this is to God's glory, that we are shown in Elijah's translation the state that we will have in eternity with God.

2 KINGS 2:12a

וֶאֱלִישָׁע רֹאֶה וְהוּא מְצַעֵק אָבִי אָבִי רֶכֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל וּפָרָשָׁ֔יו

Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"

Elisha's cry was famously quoted by Philip Melanchthon when he learned of Luther's death in 1546. וְהוּא מְצַעֵק "and he (himself) cried out" is noted as a hapax phrase in the Bible. The loss of Elijah was painful for Elisha, but of course Elijah was entering into eternal glory.

The accentuation of וּפָ֣רָשָׁ֔יו seems strange but is the result of rigidly followed rules of accentuation. The zaqef ends the clause, and although the munach isn't essential it appears to be standard with a zaqef qaton (Price p. 33) here is serves the purpose of metheg marking a secondary stress in the word. It is referred to as "munach-metheg" in this position (Price p. 125-126) and is often found with zaqef serving in this way (cf וַיֹּאמְרוּ in 2:15).

2 KINGS 2:12b

וְלֹא רָאָהוּ עוֹד וַיַּחֲזֵק בִּבְגָדָיו וַיִּקְרָעֵם לִשְׁנַיִם קְרָעִים׃

And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Rending one's clothes was a common way of showing grief; normally this was a "partial" tear, but Elisha actually tore is robe in half (לִשְׁנַיִם). The action is followed immediately by Elisha picking up Elijah's robe: Elisha showed that he was leaving his old role behind and taking up this new one as the Lord's prophet.

2 KINGS 2:13

וַיָּרֶם אֶת־אַדֶּרֶת אֵלִיָּהוּ אֲשֶׁר נָפְלָה מֵעָלָיו וַיָּשָׁב וַיַּעֲמֹד עַל־שְׂפַת הַיַּרְדֵּן׃

He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

Elijah had used his אַדֶּרֶת "cloak" to divide the water of the Jordan when the two men crossed (2:7-8). The significance of Elijah's אַדֶּרֶת was not the passing of God's grace from one man to the next. Elijah left this up to God by saying that Elisha would inherit "a double portion" of his master's spirit (a common way of talking about an heir, cf. Deut. 21:7) only if Elisha saw him when God took him away (2:10). The אַדֶּרֶת must have fallen from Elijah as he ascended; he would have no need of it in heaven.

2 KINGS 2:14a

וַיִּקַּח אֶת־אַדֶּרֶת אֵלִיָּהוּ אֲשֶׁר־נָפְלָה מֵעָלָיו וַיַּכֶּה אֶת־הַמַּיִם וַיֹּאמַר אַיֵּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֵלִיָּ֑הוּ

He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?"

The words are a very tightly crafted poem: ahyah yahweh, elohai eliyahu? When Elisha struck the water, he was showing his faith in the words of Elijah and in the response God would give.

Since the phrase "he struck the waters" is repeated in the second half of the verse, should we understand that the river did not part the first time? Is that what brought on the question from Elisha? But he struck the water (again) in 14b and the river parted once again. The idea that the river didn't part the first time is the cause of the LXX reading καὶ οὐ διέστη "but it did not part."

The word וַיֹּאמַר has the Mp note "Occurs 91 times." The reference counts the number of times this word is accented on the ultima rather than the penult.

2 KINGS 2:14b

אַף־הוּא וַיַּכֶּה אֶת־הַמַּיִם וַיֵּחָצוּ הֵנָּה וָהֵנָּה וַיַּעֲבֹר אֱלִישָׁע׃

And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

The Lord permitted Elisha to perform this miracle: In all, there will be twelve specific miracles performed by Elisha during his ministry as prophet and a thirteenth involving his bones. The Shunamite woman given a son (4:8-17) is a prophecy on Elisha's part; not strictly a miracle he performed.

1. Dividing the water of the Jordan (2:14)
2. Healing the water (2:19-22)
3. The bears punish the student prophets (2:24)
4. Ditches to deliver Israel from Moab (3:1-27)
5. The widow's oil (4:1-7)
6. The Shunamite woman's son raised from the dead (4:18-37)
7. Death in the pot (4:36-41)
8. The feeding of a hundred (4:42-44)
9. Naaman cured of leprosy (5:1-19)
10. Gehazi given leprosy (5:20-27)
11. An axe head floats (6:1-7)
12. Arameans are blinded (6:8-23)
13. An Israelite raised to life (13:20-21)

2 KINGS 2:15a (This verse begins a new seder reading in the Hebrew text).

וַיִּרְאֻהוּ בְנֵי־הַנְּבִיאִים אֲשֶׁר־בִּירִיחוֹ מִנֶּגֶד וַיֹּאמְרוּ נָחָה רוּחַ אֵלִיָּהוּ עַל־אֱלִישָׁע

Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha."

The miracle of dividing the water of the Jordan had many witnesses; the student prophets saw and confessed their faith. The term מִנֶּגֶד "from before him / opposite him" indicates that they were there to see what happened, just across the river. Raabe's analysis: "The complex peroposition min + neged functions as an adverbial. It indicates a position 'in front, opposite, within the field of vision": A faces B and can observe B" (Obadiah, p. 172).

2 KINGS 2:15b

וַיָּבֹאוּ לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ אָרְצָה׃

And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ eshtafal (hishtafel) חוה wc imperfect 3 plural "bow down." Older lexicons offer shachah as a root.

2 KINGS 2:16a

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הִנֵּה־נָא יֵשׁ־אֶת־עֲבָדֶיךָ חֲמִשִּׁים אֲנָשִׁים בְּנֵי־חַיִל יֵלְכוּ נָא֮ וִיבַקְשׁוּ אֶת־אֲדֹנֶיךָ֒

They said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master;

The accent pattern at the end of the verse is zarqa+segolta (these two always occur together for musical reasons), where the segolta has the same disjunctive force as a zaqef. The number fifty reminds us that a large crowd of witnesses saw what just happened.

2 KINGS 2:16b

פֶּן־נְשָׂאוֹ רוּחַ יְהוָה וַיַּשְׁלִכֵהוּ בְּאַחַד הֶהָרִים אוֹ בְּאַחַת הַגֵּיאָ֯וֹת וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא תִשְׁלָחוּ׃

...perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "Do not send."

Note the qere for הַגֵּיאָ֯וֹת. The Mm note that follows the qere tells us that this is one of three times that this word is written plene (2 Kg. 2:16; Ezek. 6:3 and 35:8).

The search for Elijah's body was not just symbolic. They wanted to discover whether he was dead, so that they could bury him. Elijah had told Elisha that he was going to be taken away, but the other prophets had not been privy to that conversation.

2 KINGS 2:17

וַיִּפְצְרוּ־בוֹ עַד־בֹּשׁ וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁלָחוּ וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ חֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ וַיְבַקְשׁוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה־יָמִים וְלֹא מְצָאֻה׃

But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send." So they sent fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him.

There is "a time to search and a time to give up" (Ecclesiastes 3:6), and not finding Elijah's body they arrived at the conclusion that he was in heaven, just as Enoch had been taken away.

Perhaps the timing of the taking of Enoch and Elijah preaches a message as well. Enoch's assumption took place shortly after the death of Adam. Since Adam had personally been the recipient of God's curse, Enoch's translation to heaven was a physical reminder to the people of that time that there was also a promise of salvation and not just the curse of death for mankind. When Elijah was translated, Israel was divided and both northern and southern kingdoms were going to be carried away into exile. Elijah's translation was yet another reminder to the people that for those who believe God and trust his promises, there is the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

2 KINGS 2:18

וַיָּשֻׁבוּ אֵלָיו וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בִּירִיחוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם הֲלֹא־אָמַרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם אַל־תֵּלֵכוּ׃

They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go '?"

Elisha's rebuke is not severe; he had faith, and it was time to teach these other men about faith, too. Here the prohibition is changed to אַל with the jussive indicating dissuasion.

THIS ACCOUNT FOR TRANSFIGURATION:

At Transfiguration, we meditate on the Glory of God, shown in this text by Elijah's departure, the fiery chariots and horses, and also by the miraculous division of the Jordan. By moving the pericope from the usual 2:1-12 to these verse which dwell on the aftermath of Elijah's translation, we are reminded that Jesus and his apostles came down the mountain again after the glorious transfiguration to proclaim that glory to the world. As with Elisha, so with the disciples, and so with us.

THE GLORY OF A GODLY LIFE (Sermon Studies B outline)
1. Glorious when it is spent serving the Lord
2. Glorious when it departs to eternal life

Job 2:1-8

 וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם וַיָּבֹאוּ בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל יְהוָה וַיָּבוֹא גַם הַשָּׂטָן בְּתֹכָם לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל יְהוָה

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן אֵי מִזֶּה תָּבֹא וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר מִשֻּׁט בָּאָרֶץ וּמֵהִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּהּ

2 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

Once again we see the angels arranging themselves before God, and now the changes in the scene are so subtle that it's almost impossible to show them in the translation. One thing you might see by comparing chapter 1 with this scene is that here, Satan also "presents himself" before the Lord, something he did not do before. What was his motive? We would never call it obedience or submission, and it certainly wasn't worship. So we're left with the possibility, maybe the probability, that it was done in mockery. The Lord doesn't mention it, though. What God does say here is, "Where have you come from?" The sentence is just a little different from the one in Job 1:7. There God said: meʼáyin taboʼ? (From where have you come?). Here God says: ʼey mizéh taboʼ? (From what spot have you come from?). Satan, however, doesn't really answer this question any more than he answered the first one. Here, the question is directed at Job's location: Weren't you just with Job in that spot?

JOB 2:3
  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן הֲשַׂמְתָּ לִבְּךָ אֶל עַבְדִּי אִיּוֹב כִּי אֵין כָּמֹהוּ בָּאָרֶץ אִישׁ תָּם וְיָשָׁר יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים וְסָר מֵרָע וְעֹדֶנּוּ מַחֲזִיק בְּתֻמָּתוֹ וַתְּסִיתֵנִי בוֹ לְבַלְּעוֹ חִנָּם
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

God keeps up the questions about Job. The devil lost his attempt to incite Job to curse God; God praised Job; God triumphs over the devil whenever this happens, as Jesus did in the ultimate triumphal procession when he descended into hell to proclaim his victory on Easter Sunday (1 Peter 3:19). The devil had predicted that Job would rebel, but we are not all like you, Satan. Job kept his faith.God also shows that despite the devil's actions and intention, it was God himself who afflicted Job, since it was done with God's permission and God used it for his own purpose.

JOB 2:4-6
וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר עוֹר בְּעַד עוֹר וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לָאִישׁ יִתֵּן בְּעַד נַפְשׁוֹ

אוּלָם שְׁלַח נָא יָדְךָ וְגַע אֶל עַצְמוֹ וְאֶל בְּשָׂרוֹ אִם לֹא אֶל פָּנֶיךָ יְבָרְכֶךָּ

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן הִנּוֹ בְיָדֶךָ אַךְ אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ שְׁמֹר

4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 6 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

What does Satan know about skin? Everything he knows, he has learned from watching mankind. This knowledge has hinted to him that if Job feared for his life, he would turn on God. Remember that Job never learns about this conversation; it takes place behind the scenes. But God is confident about his servant. He only puts this caution on the devil: He can threaten Job's life, so that Job will think he is about to die, but he cannot actually kill him. God sets limits on all things, the way he himself tells us he has set limits on the sea, saying "This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt!" (Job 38:11).

JOB 2:7

וַיֵּצֵא הַשָּׂטָן מֵאֵת פְּנֵי יְהוָה וַיַּךְ אֶת אִיּוֹב בִּשְׁחִין רָע מִכַּף רַגְלוֹ עד קָדְקֳדוֹ

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The second-to-last word should be read as וְעַד.

Satan sent Job a disease, "bad boils," that is not possible to diagnose from the symptoms in the book, although we have quite a bit of information. Most physicians are agreed that Job could have been suffering from more than one malady. His symptoms included:

1. Bad boils (2:7).
2. Disfiguration (2:12). His friends could hardly recognize him.
3. Oozing sores that scab over (7:5).
4. Sores infected with worms (7:5).
5. Red and swollen eyes form weeping (16:16).
6. Chills (or trembling) and fever (21:6; 30:30).
7. Darkening and peeling skin (30:30). This is associated with the fever.
8. Sleeplessness (7:4)
9. Delirium and terrible nightmares (7:13-14).
10. Diarrhea (probably what is meant by never stopping "churning inside me" (30:27).
11. Perhaps choking (7:15), but this might be disputed.
12. Bad breath (19:17), perhaps one of Job's most famous symptoms.
13. He was emaciated ("nothing but skin and bones," 19:20).
14. He suffered from excruciating pain in his bones (30:17).

JOB 2:8

 וַיִּקַּח לוֹ חֶרֶשׂ לְהִתְגָּרֵד בּוֹ וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בְּתוֹךְ הָאֵפֶר

8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. (NIV)

Anyone who has had an extremely bad rash knows that scratching open the boils (not recommended by doctors) can give a small amount of relief from their terrible itching. Something else we see here is that Job was not sitting in a city gate as he once had done (29:7). He had rescued people when they needed help (29:12), and now he was sitting in ashes; the owner of nothing at all; he could not even (as Thomas Aquinas said) "afford suitable cures for himself." The only thing Job had left was his marriage. And the devil was about to attack that, too.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Job 1:18-22

זֶה מְדַבֵּר וְזֶה בָּא וַיֹּאמַר בָּנֶיךָ וּבְנוֹתֶיךָ אֹכְלִים וְשֹׁתִים יַיִן בְּבֵית אֲחִיהֶם הַבְּכוֹר

 וְהִנֵּה רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה בָּאָה מֵעֵבֶר הַמִּדְבָּר וַיִּגַּע בְּאַרְבַּע פִּנּוֹת הַבַּיִת וַיִּפֹּל עַל הַנְּעָרִים וַיָּמוּתוּ וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (TNIV)

Now a final tragedy strikes Job (although as we shall see, even this is not truly the final blow). The truth of the matter is shown in the little detail that it happened at the house of the oldest brother, but whichever house will not matter to Job because of what happened: all of his children died. Before we experience Job's grief, let's just peek at some of the details.

The wind is called רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה  ruach gedolah, a "mighty wind." The only other time this wind appears in the Bible is in Jonah 1:4, when it is hurled by the Lord into the sea to stop Jonah's running. This wind swept in from the desert, but somehow struck all four corners of the house; this gives the wind the appearance of a cyclone, swirling all around the house and smashing it to bits. Finally, the servant says that he "escaped," literally "but I slipped away--only I."

Job's property was stolen or destroyed, but now Job's future was ripped away from him, too. His children were his legacy, and now there is nothing left. Job's wife was still young enough to bear him more children in the future, but the one thing a parent grieving for a dead child wants to hear is a glib comment about being able to have more.

But Job shows us how a believer reacts to even this kind of tragedy. Job prays.

וַיָּקָם אִיּוֹב וַיִּקְרַע אֶת מְעִלוֹ וַיָּגָז אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ וַיִּפֹּל אַרְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּחוּ

וַיֹּאמֶר עָרֹם יָצָתִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי וְעָרֹם אָשׁוּב שָׁמָּה יְהוָה נָתַן וַיהוָה לָקָח יְהִי שֵׁם יְהוָה מְבֹרָךְ

 בְּכָל זֹאת לֹא חָטָא אִיּוֹב וְלֹא נָתַן תִּפְלָה לֵאלֹהִים

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (NIV)

Tearing the robe was a common way of showing grief in both the Old and New Testaments. We often overlook that Job also shaved his head. This, too, was a form of showing grief ("Moab wails... every head is shaved," Isaiah 15:2, cp. Jer. 48:38; Ezek. 7:18).

Job admits that he came into the world with nothing, and the same is true for all of us. Paul said, "We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it" (1 Tim. 6:7). Job knew that death is in God's hands. Without knowing the promises of the gospels, Job only knew that death was "the place of no return... the land of gloom and deep shadow" (Job 10:21). Yet he had a vague understanding of a resurrection from the dead, as we will see in chapter 19.

Job also admits that everything he has in this world is a gift from God. "God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing" (Ecclesiastes 6:2). And as we have said, God is also the one who promises life after death: "God... gives life to the dead and call things that are not as though they were" (Romans 4:17).

Finally, Job praises God, and God credits Job's faith as righteousness. Only a believer can praise God when troubles come. An unbeliever might unknowingly or unwittingly use the words in good times, with irony or out of imitation of a believer, but only someone with faith can express this faith in the face of this kind of loss and disaster. Job's prayer isn't ironic or cynical; it is nothing but honest faith expressing itself in love. Job praised God, not for the death of his children, but for the gift God had given to him in those children.

Whenever any of us loses a loved one, we must remember that she (please let me think here of my own mom) was a blessing, and that God let us be blessings to her while she was with us. We will miss that person, but God used us to help them through troubles just as he gives us friends and family to help us through our own. Praise him for those blessings! The Lord gave, and the Lord took away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Luther:
We have an example in saintly Job after all his cattle and also his sons had been slain and he had been stripped of all his property. Then he said (cf. 1:21): “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. As it pleased Him, so it has happened. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” And when his wife came, mocked and reviled him, and said: “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die,” he replied (2:10): “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Therefore He did as it pleased Him.” Job says: “God gave it, and God took it away.” He did not say: “God gave it, and the devil took it away,” even though the devil had taken it away. Now this man sanctified the Lord in the right way. Therefore he was also praised and lauded so highly by God. (LW 30:104)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Job 1:16-17

עוֹד זֶה מְדַבֵּר וְזֶה בָּא וַיֹּאמַר אֵשׁ אֱלֹהִים נָפְלָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַתִּבְעַר בַּצֹּאן וּבַנְּעָרִים וַתֹּאכְלֵם וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

In this second tragedy, all of Job's seven thousand sheep are killed by "the fire of God." This could be a reference to lightning (as in 1 Kings 18:38), or to a storm of burning sulfur from a volcanic fissure such as that which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. This kind of an event is also used in the Bible as an example of the judgment of the Last Day (Psalm 11:6; Isaiah 30:33 and 34:9; Ezekiel 38:22 against Gog; several times in Revelation, and even once later in Job 18:15). Because of the early date of Job, some might see a possibility that if Job's sheep were grazing close to the shore of the Dead Sea, they might actually have been destroyed in the very same lava-storm that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah just after sunrise one day, along with the towns and vegetation of the area (Genesis 19:23-25). However, we can only leave that as a possibility, and not a certainty.

עוֹד זֶה מְדַבֵּר וְזֶה בָּא וַיֹּאמַר כַּשְׂדִּים שָׂמוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה רָאשִׁים וַיִּפְשְׁטוּ עַל הַגְּמַלִּים וַיִּקָּחוּם וְאֶת הַנְּעָרִים הִכּוּ לְפִי חָרֶב וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (NIV)

In this third tragedy, a Chaldean raid is described. Ur, a city in Chaldea, had been the birthplace of Abram. At this time, the Chaldeans occupied cities along the banks of the Tigris River, the eastern edge of modern Iraq. The three raiding parties are similar to the tactics of Gideon (Judges 7:16). The purpose for the three groups was perhaps (a) one group to create a diversion to draw away the servants, (b) one group to drive the camels in a certain direction, and (c) a final group to surprise and kill the servants. Later the Chaldeans would become renowned as magicians; their name is the word used for "wise men" or "magi" in other parts of the Bible, but here, the only place when the "wise men" even are mentioned with camels, they are mere thieves and bandits.

Were these raids by the Sabeans and the Chaldeans nothing but singular events, stirred up by Satan to persecute Job, or did the devil use some bigger events to stir up the pot all around the countryside? It is possible, perhaps even probable, that the raids that are going on in this chapter are part of a larger world scene at this time; that the lawless destruction going on was caused by fear of such "fire from God" that we see here and in Genesis 19. Canaan looked inviting, "well-watered, like the garden of the Lord" (Genesis 13:10), but if such firestorms made agriculture a gamble at best, then the emerging bands of thieves would be something we would expect to find.

These are not the last of Job's troubles, but his losses are starting pile up. So far, of the possessions he had, this is what has taken place:

7,000 sheep          -    destroyed by fire
3,000 camels         -   stolen by Chaldeans
500 yoke of oxen  -   stolen by Sabeans
500 donkeys         -   stolen by Sabeans

In addition, all of the servants that were guarding and keeping his herds and flocks were killed; so far, only three have survived to tell the tale.

Paul says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:8-9). But all of these things come only with God's permission. The devil cannot strike any one of us if God does not permit it. When we have troubles, as Christians we can see them as tests or challenges, and we have to recognize that God works out everything for the good of those who love him, and sometimes my head cold might simply put me into a place where I can be of service to somebody else in need.

Job 1:13-15

וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם וּבָנָיו וּבְנֹתָיו אֹכְלִים וְשֹׁתִים יַיִן בְּבֵית אֲחִיהֶם הַבְּכוֹר

וּמַלְאָךְ בָּא אֶל אִיּוֹב וַיֹּאמַר הַבָּקָר הָיוּ חֹרְשׁוֹת וְהָאֲתֹנוֹת רֹעוֹת עַל יְדֵיהֶם

וַתִּפֹּל שְׁבָא וַתִּקָּחֵם וְאֶת הַנְּעָרִים הִכּוּ לְפִי חָרֶב וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (NIV)

Verse 13 foreshadows something that is still on the way. Ominously, we are told that just as the devil begins to strike at Job's world, all of Job's children are together at one of their regular events.We don't need to be told what Job was doing; we already know. When his children got together, he didn't know whether any of them sinned, but he always made a burnt offering on their behalf. We can all but smell the roasting meat with Job as the hurried footsteps of a running servant approach. The Sabeans attacked! The oxen and the donkeys are all gone! The servants are all killed!

It seems best to equate these Sabeans with the nation we will later call Sheba when their queen goes to visit Solomon and is left breathless. Sheba was located in the southern tip of what we call the Arabian peninsula. The modern nation there is Yemen. It's probable that the Sabeans did not come all the way from the far south to Job, but from the north of Saudi Arabia. Later on they are associated with Tema, an oasis not far from the modern Muslim city of Medina. There is even a river bed there called the Wadi eš-Šaba (Sabean Creek) close to Medina. Later in Job the Sabeans are described as "traveling merchants" (Job 6:19); Isaiah 45:14 calls them "those tall Sabeans," and we recall that several African tribes were known for remarkable height, such as the Watusi and the nearby Meroë of Nubia.

Job's world was beginning to be struck by Satan. The blows would continue. The attacks would grow worse.

When God permits us to be tested, how will we react? Will we become angry? Depressed? Will we turn to him for help and support? The Sabean raid cost Job a huge percentage of his possessions and about a third of his servants were murdered. How will he react?

Lord God, help us to look to you for help in the cold, whether we have colds or whether we are cold, Never let our love run cold. Amen.

Luther:
When God gives us a purse full of money, a field full of grain, and a cellar full of wine, and when He lets us be without cross and temptation and enjoy ourselves, then we have a good time and come to think that everything is rosy and that we are sitting in God’s lap. But when God conceals and hides himself and lets the devil do with us what he pleases, then there is trouble and sorrow, yes, there is death itself. From the example of Job one can understand to some extent what it is to be forsaken of God.

Job 1:9-12

 וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר  הַחִנָּם יָרֵא אִיּוֹב אֱלֹהִים
הֲלֹא את שַׂכְתָּ בַעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ וּבְעַד כָּל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ מִסָּבִיב מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו בֵּרַכְתָּ וּמִקְנֵהוּ פָּרַץ בָּאָרֶץ
וְאוּלָם שְׁלַח נָא יָדְךָ וְגַע בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אִם לֹא עַל פָּנֶיךָ יְבָרְכֶךָּ
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן הִנֵּה כָל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ בְּיָדֶךָ רַק אֵלָיו אַל תִּשְׁלַח יָדֶךָ

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

The devil didn't think Job would stay so squeaky clean if God let him remove his wealth and his household. But Satan didn't strike Job without God's permission. This was to be a test, not merely a temptation. God never tests us or permits us to be tested more than we are able to withstand (1 Corinthians 10:13). There is always a way through the pain. So to Satan, God said: "This far, and no farther." The devil could strike Job's livelihood, but not Job himself.

וַיֵּצֵא הַשָּׂטָן מֵעִם פְּנֵי יְהוָה


Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (NIV)

Are you safe from the devil?

While the world spins in space, Satan slithers in and out of our lives. He comes to us in enticing temptations, he creeps up in cravings and curiosity, he hunkers down behind bad habits – he comes in words, he comes in thoughts, he comes in images, he comes in memories of past sins and temptations – he comes. He comes. He comes again.

Has he come to you in a poor role model? Has he come in the desire for a late model sports car? Has he come in the desire for a supermodel? Has he come in the lust for power? Has he come in the lateness of the hour? Has he come in the despair of the emptiness, loneliness, or pennilessness that causes some to turn their backs on God and say "I will have to take care of myself"?

In the Book of Job, Satan must come before God to admit what he has been doing, and he confesses, "I have been roaming through the earth." There is no place locked so securely that the devil cannot find us.

But for all the devil's careful, crafty art in tempting us, we have an answer — Jesus.

Jesus broke the devil's power when he let himself be put to death, because Jesus carried the sentence of every human being with him to the cross. When Jesus died, our sins, our guilt and our sentence died with him. Now Jesus has risen from the dead – but our sins, our guilt and our shame can never rise from the dead. They are gone forever. God has forgiven us and given us proof through Jesus' resurrection. Jesus lives! And so shall we!

Lord Jesus Christ, my God and my Lord. I have sinned against you. I have been caught by my old enemy the devil and I have let him turn me away from you. Forgive my sins. Bring me into your Word, that teaches me that everything you did for me, you did because you love me. You did it all.

Luther on these verses:

From the example of Job one can understand to some extent what it is to be forsaken of God. Job is straight and upright; he fears God and avoids evil, and there is no one like him in the land, as God the Lord Himself testifies about him. But Satan comes among the sons of God as they come before the Lord and says to the Lord (Job 1:9–12): “‘Does Job fear God for nought? Hast Thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.’” Then the devil himself confesses that he cannot come to Job nor touch his property unless God permits it. For God has put a guard of His holy angels around Job, who guard and protect him and his property, as it is written in Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”

Satan appears again among the sons of God before the Lord and says (Job 2:4): “‘Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.’” Then the forsaking gradually proceeds. At first God is near, and the devil cannot come close to Job. Then God goes away and leaves room for the devil to touch his property and his body. And Satan does not spare Job but takes his property and kills his children. He also attacks his body, striking him with boils from the soles of his feet to his scalp. Yet Job is not completely forsaken, his soul and life are still preserved and sure under the protection of God and His holy angels, and he still has comfort in his heart. LW 12:126