Daniel Lazich

Job continued.

“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Job 1:1.

The land of Uz lay in the southern part of the Transjordan region, also known as the East, because it lies east of the Jordan River. Uz was renowned for its wisdom literature, which featured debates and discussions similar to those in the Book of Job. While the Book of Job shares similarities with Transjordanian literature, it is more detailed and more skillfully written. The Book of Job has undergone many revisions and edits to refine it and make it uniquely suited to Hebrew religious teaching. According to the Jewish rabbinic Midrash, the main character of the story, Job, was not an Israelite.

The purpose of the Book of Job, the trilogy, is not to present an ideal model of righteous living. No actual person is likely to have experienced what is described in the Book of Job. If Satan represents the Devil himself, then Jews would not say that God made a deal with the Devil. The debates in the Book of Job aim to answer the timeless question: Why do innocent people suffer while the unrighteous prosper? Do innocent people exist, and what is the source of human righteousness? The Book of Job offers no simple answer. It simply shows that God’s ways are beyond human understanding.

Innocence means being free from sin by doing nothing wrong. The book of Job, therefore, raises a question: Could fallen human beings be innocent? Even if they obey the law perfectly, could they still be considered innocent? God, through the prophet Jeremiah, before the book of Job was written, stated, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” Jeremiah 13:23. Paul agrees: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. The fact that those who, by human standards, always do what is right yet still suffer disproportionately has puzzled people for thousands of years. However, through the prophet Jeremiah, God answers, “And if you ask yourself, why has this happened to me? – It is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated.” Jeremiah 13:22. All humans are born sinners because of the sin in the Garden of Eden; therefore, they cannot be innocent and blameless, no matter how hard they try.

Continued in the next blog.

Christ in the book of Job, an introduction.

The Book of Job is a wisdom book similar to Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. It begins with a prologue that sets the scene for the main story. The book concludes with an epilogue that provides conclusions and answers the questions raised midway through the narrative. The Book of Job is a Jewish trilogy featuring a dramatic dialogue or debate among friends who were members of a group of wise men. These men also cared about how they lived and behaved.

Most of the conversation between Job and his friends consisted of cryptic poetic parallelism. However, we can confidently conclude that the Book of Job is not a biography of its main character. In the book of Job, a man like the main character is not a historical figure. Analysis shows that the Book of Job was composed over a long period and written by more than one author, which supports this conclusion. The Book of Job is connected to several earlier books in the Jewish Canon. The most likely period for writing is from the sixth century BC to the fourth century before the Birth of the Messiah.

The central part of the Book of Job explores two main topics in Jewish theology and logic, both of which are relevant to Christian theology. The first topic deals with the suffering of innocent people within the framework of an all-knowing God. Are any people truly innocent? The second topic, though not explicitly mentioned, concerns the foundation of human righteousness. Additionally, the book includes shorter related subjects woven into its structure.

The Book of Job poses notable challenges for both translators and interpreters due to its unique structure of arguments. These arguments involve intricate debates that use highly poetic language and rare words not commonly found in everyday Hebrew. Such uncommon words only appear in the Book of Job and nowhere else in the Bible. This distinctive feature of the Book of Job likely explains why it is longer in Hebrew than in its earlier translations: the Septuagint, the Targum, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

Continued in the next blog.

Which prophet?

“The LORD, your God, will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” Deuteronomy 18:15. What made Moses a unique prophet? God sent Moses to free the Israelites from slavery and lead them into the promised land. God spoke to other prophets in dreams and visions, but not to Moses. “But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD.” Numbers 12:7, 8.

Did God raise another prophet like Moses among the Israelites? The book of Deuteronomy concludes: “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, …for no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” Deuteronomy 34:10, 12. To whom did Moses refer when he said, “The Lord will raise a prophet like me”? The Jewish Study Bible, on page 408, states that Deuteronomy 18:15, above, refers to “a single messianic prophet at the end of time.” The key phrase in Deuteronomy 18:15 is “listen to him.” Concerning which prophet did God say, “Listen to Him”? Apostle Peter, who was present at the transfiguration, applied Deuteronomy 18:15 to Jesus. Acts 3:22. The deacon Stephen indicated that Deuteronomy 18:15 refers to Jesus. Acts 7:37, 38.

Apostle Paul applies Deuteronomy 18:15 to Jesus Christ, a single messianic figure. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” Hebrews 1:2. Jesus, like Moses, liberated the people from slavery. He freed humankind from slavery in the kingdom of sin and darkness and led it into the kingdom of light and righteousness. So, Moses commanded the people to listen to a prophet like him. God, concerning Jesus, commanded the apostles present at the transfiguration, “Listen to him” Matthew 17:5; therefore, the prophet like Moses is Jesus Christ.

Christ in the book of Job. Read the next blog.

“The bronze snake” – Jesus on the cross.

When the Edomites refused to let the Israelites pass through their territory, the Israelites had to go around Edom. Edom is Esau, Jacob’s brother, so the Israelites did not fight them. Numbers 20:14–21. Moses led the people back toward the Red Sea to avoid Edom, but they became irritated and complained against God and Moses. Numbers 21:4–5. God sent venomous snakes, and many Israelites died from their bites. The people admitted their sins and asked Moses to pray to God on their behalf. Moses prayed, and God answered him, giving him instructions on how to save the people.

“The Lord said to Moses, Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” Numbers 21:8. The snake on a pole in the desert represented the Son of Man lifted up or hung on a wooden cross. Being hung on a wooden pole or cross meant being hung on a tree. Those who looked up at the snake had to trust that God would save them from death. People did not have to have physical contact with the snake, and nothing flowed from the snake to the ground. Therefore, people had to rely on God.

God was informing the people that, in due time, the Lamb of God would be crucified so that everyone who looks to Him would have eternal life. “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life.” John 3:14. Also, the Greek here indicates that all who trust Him will have eternal life in Him. Therefore, anyone who wants to live forever must trust Jesus Christ, because our eternal life is hidden with God in Jesus Christ.

Which prophet? Read the next blog.

To strike the rock once or twice?

“Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.” Water is essential anytime and anywhere, but it becomes a lifesaver in the desert. Moses struck the rock twice, and the water of life flowed out. However, striking the rock twice made Moses and Aaron ineligible to enter the promised land. “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I gave them.” Numbers 20:12. What did Moses do wrong?

Some commentators believe Moses erred when he said, “…must we bring you water out of this rock?” Numbers 20:10. It would have been more appropriate if Moses had said, ‘Look, God will bring you water out of this rock.’ However, God did not deny him entry into Canaan because of what Moses said but because of what he did. God instructed Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses hit it twice. If Moses had hit the rock once, it might have been acceptable; he did so at another place, and it was acceptable (Exodus 17:6). To understand what was wrong with what Moses did, we need to understand what the rock represented to the people. We also need to know who the rock symbolizes.

“They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:3, 4. Moses was not unaware of the Messiah, the Christ. He spent many days on the mountain with God, who taught Moses about his plans for humankind. The rock symbolized the Savior of the world, who is the new human life of the new humankind that God created in Jesus Christ. The Savior of the world could be struck only once, not twice. “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people, …” Hebrews 9:28. Since the Savior of the world could not die (be struck) more than once, Moses misrepresented the gospel by striking the rock twice. That was a serious mistake on Moses’s part. Even today, if we claim that Jesus is offering himself anew for each individual sinner, we would be making a serious error. Jesus Christ suffered the cross once to save all of humankind. By this, God made all human beings His children. Unfortunately, not all God’s children want God as their Father.

The Bronze Snake. Read the next blog.

Significance of the pattern of the Temple and its furnishings

God instructed Moses to build the dwelling for His presence among His people (the hideout) and to arrange its furnishings exactly as the pattern He showed him. God gave Moses specific instructions about the size, orientation, and type of furnishings for His dwelling (the sanctuary). The pattern of the temple’s furnishings conveyed an important lesson. The temple, or the tabernacle—meaning dwelling—was oriented east-west with the entrance on the east end. God did not tell Moses why the temple needed to face east-west, but several parallels offer clues. First, God placed the Garden of Eden on the eastern side of Eden. Second, the glory of God departed to the east just before the Babylonian exile. Third, the star that announced the Messiah’s birth to the three wise men rose from the east. Lastly, Jesus ascended to heaven in the east, and He will return from the east.

The Ark of Agreement was located was located at the West end of the dwelling place, the Tabernacle, the Second Compartment. The altar for sacrifices, the altar of incense, and the Ark of the Agreement in the Second Compartment formed a straight East-West line. The lampstand and the table for the bread formed a straight North-South line. This arrangement created a cross pattern. The top of the cross was the Ark of the Agreement, the Mercy Seat, at the west end of the Tabernacle. The curtain separating the Holy from the Most Holy chambers hung from North to South and was just behind the altar of incense. When the high priest, on the annual Day of the Removal of People’s Sins, entered the Most Holy, he faced Golgotha west of Jerusalem and just outside its wall. The curtain represented the body of Jesus Christ as it hung on the cross at Golgotha. Hebrews 10:19.

Note. God did not divide the Temple into the Holy and the Most Holy; the priests divided it into two. God gave the law of the Temple: “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.” Ezekiel 43:12. This is because the temple was God’s dwelling among His people. Therefore, the entire temple and its surroundings were considered the Most Holy. For us, humankind, God is in heaven, His dwelling; thus, the whole heaven is the Most Holy.

The service held once a year on the Day of the symbolic Removal of People’s Sins was the most effective visual lesson for the people. It clearly illustrated how, at the right time, God would sacrifice the Lamb of God to remove the sin that separated humankind from Him and bring us back to Him as His children. The pattern of furnishings pointed west of the city of  Jerusalem, the Golgotha, where Jews crucified the Lamb of God. That was also the place where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, but God provided a ram instead. Therefore, the Jews had no excuse for not recognizing Jesus as the promised Messiah.

To strike the rock once or twice? Read in the next blog.

The tabernacle, the dwelling place for the hideout

“Make this tabernacle and its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” Exodus 25:9. The Mishkan, the tabernacle, literally means “dwelling.” It refers to God’s hiding place, the sanctuary — the place of His presence among His people. It also signifies the “place” where the “pact,” or agreement between the people and God, the Ten Commandments, was stored. The tabernacle, therefore, reminded the people that they had an obligation to obey God as they promised. However, among the Hebrews, the agreement — the Ten Commandments — served as a witness against the people, showing that they could not perfectly fulfill their part of the agreement with God.

The significance of the Mishkan—the temple—was that God would establish an eternal dwelling among His people. God’s permanent dwelling with humankind is now in the body of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. “Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifices and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;” Hebrews 10:5. Jesus confirmed that the temple—the Mishkan—symbolized his body. “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ The Jews replied, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days? But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” John 2:19–21. Therefore, the Mishkan—the temple—was a shadow pointing to the genuine reality: the body of Jesus Christ. “These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Colossians 2:17.

Jesus is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Therefore, like Melchizedek, Jesus did not, and does not, serve in a building or physical structure. Instead, He served in His body. Jesus Christ is High Priest forever in his body. Melchizedek, as the priest to the God Most High, served in his body, not in a structure built by man, a temple. God, not man, created the human body Jesus shares with new humankind. Because Jesus is the High Priest forever, His body continues to serve as God’s dwelling place with His people.

Continued in the next blog.

The Temple, the Dwelling place

The Temple on Mount Moriah constantly reminded people of God’s presence among His followers. The principal service in the earthly Temple was the Day of Atonement, which represented God’s act of removing the sin that separated humankind from Him. As stated in Exodus 25:8, “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” The Hebrew word for “sanctuary” is often translated to refer to a building or physical structure where people could worship God. However, the Hebrew noun also means “hideout” or “hiding place”. Because it was meant for God, it became His holy dwelling among His people.

The following blogs explore God’s dwelling or “hideout” among His people. Why did God ask them to build a hideout for Him? The answer is that the people were afraid when God spoke to them directly; however, He still wanted to be present among them (Exodus 20:18-19).

God commanded His people to build a place where He could dwell among them. They would know He was there, but they would not see His glory or be afraid. The structure would serve as a daily reminder that God is with His people. The Temple’s physical structure was meant to be God’s sacred residence and could not be used for any other purpose. Therefore, God told Moses to build a sanctuary as His dwelling place. He asked for a space to live among His people, rather than just a building for worship. People were free to worship God anywhere, but God’s desire for His creation to stay close to Him is more meaningful than any special worship service. His dwelling, the sanctuary, strongly reminds us that God would live among His faithful forever when the time is right.

The Hebrew noun “Mikdash,” meaning “hideout,” does not refer solely to a physical structure, but also to a sanctuary (or hideout) within a physical place. The Hebrew word for the Temple or dwelling place is “Mishkan.” The Mikdash, a hideout, was enclosed within the Mishkan. In the instructions given to Moses, the terms for the sanctuary and the Temple are different.

Sificance of the physical Temple. Read the next blog.

The ultimate sacrifice.

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As they walked together, the wood Isaac carried symbolized a profoundly deeper truth. They traveled together to the place where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, which foreshadows God the Father sacrificing His Son to reconcile the world to Himself. Just as Abraham and his son walked together to the hill, so too did God the Father walk the Via Dolorosa with Jesus to the same hill where He offered His Son for the sin of the world. This account vividly illustrates this divine plan. As stated in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” Ultimately, this means that God offered His Son to expiate, remove without trace, the sin humankind committed in the Garden of Eden and, therefore, all sins against the Objective Moral Law.

Jesus, called the Lamb of God, carried His wooden cross—the one on which the Father would offer Him as a sacrifice for the sin of rebellious humankind. John 19:16-17 states, “Finally, Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.” This place, known as Golgotha, lies to the west of Jerusalem just outside its western wall. Remarkably, it is the exact location where Abraham was told to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, whom he loves.

When Isaac noticed that the wood and fire were ready, he asked Abraham, “…where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). Abraham replied, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them continued walking together. (Genesis 22:8). This response was prophetic; in due time, God did provide the Lamb as the ultimate sacrifice for humankind’s sin. Also, God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac: “Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.” (Genesis 22:13).

The ram represented Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, whom the heavenly Father offered to remove and destroy the sin that humankind committed in the Garden of Eden. Just as the ram’s head was caught in thorns, the Lamb of God also wore a crown of thorns on His head during His sacrifice for the sins of rebellious humankind: “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head” (John 19:1-2). The account of Abraham and Isaac has been told and retold for centuries, both before and after the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, yet it often received little or no appreciation.

It will be continued in the next blog

The ultimate sacrifice.

Sometime after Isaac’s birth, God continued to teach Abraham about what He would do for helpless humankind at the right time. Abraham wanted to see it happen and understand how God would accomplish it. “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” John 8:56. So God gave him a demonstration. “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’” (Genesis 22:2). Mount Moriah was a large rock dome on the east side of the ancient city of Salem, which later, David renamed Jerusalem. The place where Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac was on the west side of Salem, just outside its wall.

What did Abraham do? He did not hesitate. “Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.” (Genesis 22:3). When Abraham reached the location God had specified, he prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac. However, God intervened.

This entire experience probably left a lasting impact on both Abraham and his son. Abraham likely understood the importance of what happened that day. He may have realized the magnitude of what God would do for helpless humankind at the right moment. The lesson from that day was truly remarkable.

What are the parallels? Read the next blog.

The show-and-tell lessons.

With the call of Abraham, God began revealing to helpless humankind how He would fulfill His promise to defeat the enemy and bring fallen people back to Himself. Although Abraham was only one man, God had a plan for all humankind. God shared His plan with Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3. Abraham could not yet see how God would make His promise come true because his wife was unable to have children and was already past childbearing age. After Abraham rescued his nephew Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God blessed him and said, “… I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abraham asked, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless….” Genesis 15:1, 2.

Abraham had not yet realized that the blessing for all people on earth would not come from any of his biological sons, but from God, in the Son He had promised in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:15). Following his wife’s advice, Abraham fathered a son with her female slave and told God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Genesis 17:18. “Then God said, Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac….” Genesis 17:19. So, when Abraham was one hundred years old, and his wife Sarah was ninety, they had a son, whom they named Isaac, as God instructed. Isaac was a shadow pointing to the reality—the promised Son whom God would send to a helpless humankind.

The lesson is that when Abraham and his wife could not have children, God stepped in and gave them a son through whom the world’s Savior would arrive at the right time. Similarly, when humankind was powerless to escape its slavery to sin and darkness, God intervened. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6. As a result, God’s promise that “all the people on earth will be blessed” through Abraham became a reality in the Promised Son—Jesus Christ.

The ultimate sacrifice. Read the next blog.

The consequence of the decision in the Garden of Eden

Adam, the first man and representative of humankind, brought darkness into the world through his deliberate decision in the Garden of Eden. The force of darkness used all evil means at its disposal to erase God’s image from humankind by exploiting Adam’s deliberate decision. As a result, humankind became entirely hopeless. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5.

The deliberate decision in the Garden of Eden changed humankind’s attitude and way of thinking. Man’s subsequent words and actions clearly reflected his wrong mindset. The power of darkness was about to push humankind off the edge into the eternal abyss, with no way back. Unaware of this, humankind was heading toward unavoidable self-destruction. But because He loved humankind, God intervened to save it. First, in the Garden of Eden, God prevented humankind from eating from the fruit of the Tree of Life. Accordingly, God ensured that humankind would not become an eternal sinner who lives forever. Genesis 3:22 – 23. There is no salvation for an eternal sinner! Then, at just the right time, God changed the course of human history and altered its living conditions by bringing the flood upon the entire earth. The flood shortened human lifespan, thereby slowing the progress of evil that threatened man’s existence. Therefore, humankind was given a fresh start.

However, as people multiplied after the flood, their thoughts turned inward, and they became more self-absorbed, deeply rooted in the ways of darkness. “The Lord said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:6. So, God confused the language of humankind at the Tower of Babel and thus protected helpless humankind until, in the fullness of time, He would again give the command, “Let there be light.” John 1:9.

When the time came to fulfill His promise in the Garden of Eden, God called Abram, and thus began His effort to bring humankind back to Himself as His children. “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you.’” Genesis 12:1. God told Abram that he would be a blessing to all people on Earth. How did Abram become a blessing to everyone? They will be blessed by receiving the true Light through the SEED of woman, the descendant of Abram, who will, once and for all, conquer the power of evil and darkness. The SEED, in singular, refers to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. “The true light, that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:9.

The show-and-tell lessons. Read the next blog.

The creation narrative.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. The heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” Genesis 1:31; 2:1. God made everything very good because he created a place where humankind, whom he determined to create, could enjoy a long and happy life with Him. God even planted a garden and filled it with all kinds of fruit trees so that humankind could enjoy. “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:7, 15. The ‘breath of life’ is the human spirit that God put into the first man, Adam.

The statement “and it was very good” above included humankind, as created in the image of God in Adam. However, the first man, Adam, the representative of all humankind, did not remain good. The first man, Adam, disobeyed God’s command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Genesis 3:6. As a representative of humankind, Adam made a deliberate choice to disobey God. Accordingly, humankind joined God’s enemy, the adversary—Satan—in rebellion against God. Thus, all of humankind, the biological descendants of Adam, became natural sinners and slaves in the kingdom of sin and darkness. Therefore, the “Let there be light” was plunged into darkness. Thus, the biblical creation account introduces readers to the tension between light and darkness and between good and evil.

God, out of love for His creation, decided that His good creation should not remain in darkness. Therefore, God brought light into the world through the promised Son, “the woman’s seed,” as foretold in the Garden of Eden. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, is called “the woman’s seed” because He received a human body through a woman. The promised Son, the woman’s seed, defeated Satan, the darkness, and made sure that humankind, who was helpless, would also have victory in Jesus Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, God reminded His enemies—the helpless humankind—of what He would do to crush the kingdom of sin and darkness and replace it with the kingdom of light and righteousness.

The consequence of Adam’s decision. Read the next blog.