Topic: Music from Joy to Mourning
Verses – Job 29:13, Job 30-31
About Job
When / Author
The Book of Job was likely written in the 5th or 4th century BCE, during the period following the Babylonian Exile. Many scholars believe it was a composition by multiple authors over time, with the prose narrative framing the poetic disputation. The book’s language, including post-Babylonian Hebrew and Aramaic influences, suggests it was written during the Persian period.
Purpose
The Book of Job was not written for any specific individual, but rather for a broad audience. It was likely intended for anyone who has experienced suffering, those who need to comfort others in their suffering, and those who may lose faith because of suffering. The book explores the nature of suffering and the reasons why bad things happen to good people.
In Chapter 38 God speaks to Job and declares His sovereignty above all things.Side note: Job 38:31
The Pleiades is a loose collection of stars, specifically an open cluster, meaning they were born together from a nebula and are gravitationally bound.
Orion is a well-known constellation, a group of stars that form a recognizable pattern in the night sky. It's associated with the legendary hunter Orion in Greek mythology. The stars are not gravitationally bound together.
Existence/References in Bible
Ezekial 14:14 (around 580 BC) mentions Noah (2500 BC), Daniel (600 BC) and Job (2000 BC) in reference to God stretching out His hand against man.
14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.
James 5:11 – 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
The Story
God allows satan to afflict Job. First by taking away his family and possessions. But Job remains faithful. Next God allows satan to attack his health. Job still remains faithful.
Chapter 29: Joy
Job remembers when God smiled upon him and all was well. He was a respected member of the community – possibly a judge. Job was a generous man that shared his wealth with widows and orphans. A dying man blessed Job and comforted the widow (Job 29:12-13). Widows normally were considered the lowest of low among society. But here their heart are made happy.
Chapter 30: Sorrow
Job’s benefactors are not mentioned. He is left alone in pain and sorrow except for his three “friends”. Let’s just say he is left feeling alone.
Job 30:29-31
Other translations:
KJV: Dragons and Owls
NIV: Jackals and Owls
ESV: Jackals and Ostriches
All solitary creatures but also there sound is described as wailing or moaning.
CEV:
28 My days are dark and gloomy
and in the city council
I stand and cry out,
29 making mournful sounds
like jackals[a] and owls.
The prophet Micah used the same expression when he was in sorrow and lamentation over the impending judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem in Micah 8:1
Application
Sound and our ability to hear sound is a gift from God.
Music and even sounds in nature can effect our mood.
Some people with perfect pitch associate colors with note frequencies.
Prayer
Pray that God gives you the wisdom to know the limits of your own understanding and faith to fully trust in his sovereignty. That He will work for the good of all who love Him through all seasons.
References to Job
Ezekial 14:14 (around 580 BC) mentions Noah (2500 BC), Daniel (600 BC) and Job (2000 BC) in reference to God stretching out His hand against man.
14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.
James 5:11 – 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
References
Overview of the book of Job
The following overview was extracted from Thomas Nelson Publishing
Authorship
The author is uncertain. The name of the author is not indicated in the book. That Job himself could not have written all of it is shown by the inclusion of the record of his death (Job 42:17 KJV). Some have suggested that Moses wrote the account. This hypothesis would explain its inclusion in the canon, but it is mere speculation.
Job Existed
Job was a real person as Ezekiel 14:14–20 (KJV) and James 5:11 (KJV) indicate. He was a native of the land of Uz (Job 1, 19 KJV), which scholars have located either northeast of Palestine near desert land, probably between the city of Damascus and the Euphrates River, or to the southeast in the area of Edom. Job probably lived before or around the time of Abraham (c. 2167–1992 b.c.). Some have suggested that Job was about 70 years old at the time of the events in Job (Job 42:16 KJV). He was very wealthy; he and his sons were homeowners in a large city of the region (Job 4; 29:7 KJV); he was a respected and popular judge and benefactor of his fellow citizens (Job 29:7–25 KJV). He was a righteous man in God’s eyes (Job 1, 5, 8; 2:3 KJV; Ezek. 14:14–20 KJV; James 5:11 KJV). The events related in this book were initiated by God (Job 6–8 KJV), for God did not allow Job’s trials because of any sin in his life (Job 2:3 KJV). Job emerged from the severe testing with a fresh appreciation of God’s sovereignty and sufficiency for the believer’s life (Job 42:1–6 KJV).
The following is an AI summary:
No direct lineage:
The Book of Job itself doesn’t provide a clear genealogy, leaving scholars to debate his ancestry.
Septuagint’s Claim:
The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, adds a verse claiming Job was a descendant of Esau and a ruler of Edom.
Possible Connections:
Some speculate Job lived between the Tower of Babel and Abraham, suggesting he might have been a descendant of Shem or even Melchizedek.
Other Theories:
There are various theories, some based on Job’s name or cultural context, suggesting he might be a descendant of Shem or Lot, or even a pre-Abrahamic figure.
Significance:
Regardless of his specific lineage, the Book of Job’s story is important because it explores themes of faith, suffering, and God’s character in a period before the Abrahamic covenant, according to some scholars newcreation.blog.
Purpose of the Book of Job
Many suggestions have been made as to the purpose of the book of Job. However, the overriding intention seems to be to demonstrate to man the inadequacy of human reason to account for the suffering of the innocent. There is a mystery of divine freedom which does not contradict God’s goodness or sovereignty but remains elusive to man. Therefore, man is resigned to an attitude of trust and dependence on a good God whose workings man cannot fathom.
Chapter 29
Job remembers the days when he lived in God’s favor
1 Job further continued his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in months past,
As in the days when God watched over me;
3 When His lamp shone upon my head,
And when by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my prime,
When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me,
When my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed with [a]cream,
And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!
7 “When I went out to the gate by the city,
When I took my seat in the open square,
8 The young men saw me and hid,
And the aged arose and stood;
9 The princes refrained from talking,
And put their hand on their mouth;
10 The voice of nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me,
And when the eye saw, then it approved me;
12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out,
The fatherless and the one who had no helper.
13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me,
And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
Job 29:13 compare
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind,
And I was feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor,
And I searched out the case that I did not know.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked,
And plucked the victim from his teeth.
18 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest,
And multiply my days as the sand.
19 My root is spread out to the waters,
And the dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is fresh within me,
And my bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited,
And kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech settled on them as dew.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it,
And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.
25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief;
So I dwelt as a king in the army,
As one who comforts mourners.
Chapter 30
1 “But now they mock at me, men [a]younger than I,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?
Their vigor has perished.
3 They are gaunt from want and famine,
Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,
4 Who pluck [b]mallow by the bushes,
And broom tree roots for their food.
5 They were driven out from among men,
They shouted at them as at a thief.
6 They had to live in the clefts of the [c]valleys,
In [d]caves of the earth and the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed,
Under the nettles they nestled.
8 They were sons of fools,
Yes, sons of vile men;
They were scourged from the land.
9 “And now I am their taunting song;
Yes, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me;
They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Because He has loosed [e]my bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off restraint before me.
12 At my right hand the rabble arises;
They push away my feet,
And they raise against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path,
They promote my calamity;
They have no helper.
14 They come as broad breakers;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
16 “And now my soul is poured out because of my plight;
The days of affliction take hold of me.
17 My bones are pierced in me at night,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By great force my garment is disfigured;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You regard me.
21 But You have become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it;
You spoil my success.
23 For I know that You will bring me to death,
And to the house appointed for all living.
24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins,
If they cry out when He destroys it.
25 Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
27 [f]My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 I go about mourning, but not in the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29 I am a brother of jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin grows black and falls from me;
My bones burn with fever.
31 My harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.