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| 1 And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, |
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| 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? |
Darkeneth ... by words – "Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?" (1 Cor. 14:9) R1481:4*
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| 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will demand of thee, and inform thou me. |
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| 4 Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. |
The foundations – Illustrated by the rock on which the Great Pyramid is built. C318; R1813:5
Of the earth – "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen. 1:1) F17
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| 5 Who set the measures thereof--if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it? |
Laid the measures – The Great Pyramid abounds in significant measurements. C318
The line upon it – The perfection and exactness of the Great Pyramid show it was constructed by a master architect. C318
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| 6 Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone, |
The foundations – The socket stones (margin). R1813:5; C329
Fastened – Or, made to sink. The Great Pyramid has four corner socket-stones sunk into solid rock. C318
The corner stone – "The chief corner stone" (Eph. 2:20); The top stone; "The stone which the builders rejected" (Matt. 21:42); "He shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." (Zech. 4:7) C318, C329
A pyramid has five cornerstones, but the reference here is to one particular cornerstone, the top stone. It is a perfect pyramid in itself, to which the lines of the entire structure conform. C318
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| 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? |
The morning stars – Early bright ones. R1005:1
All the sons of God – The angelic sons, to whom he was the life-giver. F51; E105; R816:5, R1005:1, R2843:5, R5290:3
Shouted for joy – At the creation of this earth. R1005:1; F17, F18
In the dawn of earth's creative week of 49,000 years. F51
Their interest in the human race was manifested in singing over the works of creation. A220
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| 8 And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb? |
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| 9 When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it; |
Swaddlingband – Heavy rings enveloping the earth. F31, F23-26
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| 10 When I cut out for it my boundary, and set bars and doors, |
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| 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? |
But no further – For 6,000 years the Lord has been letting mankind learn their own lessons, except as their course of sin might interfere with the outworking of God's great plan. R5771:3
God's providence has often interfered in the past, but now we have apparently reached the time when the Lord is saying, "Let loose the winds of strife." R5825:4
God can harness even every opposing element, animate or inanimate, and make them all work together for the accomplishment of his grand designs. R1560:2
That which would work no good, serve no purpose or teach no lesson, he restrains. A250
God has not given present rulers unlimited power, but only so far as it does not interfere with his plans--there it must stop. R799:1
Even the wrath of men and devils shall be controlled by God's providence and made to praise him; and the remainder, which would in any way thwart his ultimate purpose, he will restrain. R1778:4
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| 12 Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place, |
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| 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it? |
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| 14 It is changed like the signet-clay; and all things stand forth as in a garment: |
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| 15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the uplifted arm is broken. |
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| 16 Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep? |
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| 17 Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? |
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| 18 Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all. |
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| 19 Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place, |
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| 20 That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house? |
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| 21 Thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great! |
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| 22 Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail, |
Hast thou – Verses 22 and 23 seem to be figurative language, not prophetic. R1762:4[R1762:4]
Hail – Stones of congellation, hail of frozen water. R3344:3*
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| 23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of battle and war? |
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| 24 By what way is the light parted, and the east wind scattered upon the earth? |
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| 25 Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder's flash; |
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| 26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man; |
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| 27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the sprout of the grass to spring forth? |
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| 28 Hath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew? |
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| 29 Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth? |
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| 30 When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together. |
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| 31 Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? |
Canst thou bind – By their numberless multitude, orderly grouping, continual yet never conflicting movements, perfect harmony, magnitude and mutual benign influence, do the shining host of heaven declare the glory of God. R1391:1
The Lord desired to reassure Job of his superior power and grace. R1390:6, R3424:4
Of Pleiades – While the planets of our solar system revolve around our sun, there is a far mightier center around which countless millions of suns revolve, seemingly associated with the Pleiades, particularly with Alcyone, its central star--thus possibly representing the residence of Jehovah. R5710:2
The probable seat of divine empire. D653; C327; Q813:2
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Bind – Knit together, keep from separating and moving apart.
The sweet influences – The cluster (AV, RV, RVIC).
Of Pleiades – The Pleiades is special in this regard: As seen from earth most star groupings are an illusion, i.e., they are not really a grouping of stars moving together through space. The apparent grouping only works for one standing on the earth. The stars that make up the various constellations are actually hundreds and often thousands of light years apart, often moving in different directions. - Not so with the Pleiades. This is actually a genuine star group, one that is indeed bound together (in a cluster) by gravity and the laws of motion.
The above information does not change the thought that the Pleiades may very well be the symbol of God's throne.
Loose the bands of Orion – This is a most fascinating phrase which could not have been fully understood by the ancients, nor even by those living at the time of our Lord's return. It is only through modern science with the aid of the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes that astronomers have given us the information which lets us know just how remarkable is this statement which God uttered to Job over three thousand years ago.
First let us examine the the Hebrew word that is here translated 'bands.' According to professor Strong (#4189) it is: "Active participle feminine of H4900; something drawing, that is, (figuratively) a cord: - band." In other words it is a 'feminine chord.' This suggests (the only natural feminine chord we can think of), an umbilical chord.
This is most appropriate as it turns out that the Orion nebula is now being referred to by scientists as 'a stellar nursery,' the birthplace of new stars. |
| 32 Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons? |
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| 33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth? |
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| 34 Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee? |
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| 35 Dost thou send forth lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? |
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| 36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind? |
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| 37 Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens, |
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| 38 When the dust runneth as into a molten mass, and the clods cleave fast together? |
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| 39 Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions, |
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| 40 When they crouch in their dens, and abide in the thicket to lie in wait? |
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| 41 Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto *God, and they wander for lack of meat? |
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