Job's Long Speech Part 1 Job 26

Job 26:1-2 "But Job answered and said, How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?"

This is followed by several other questions that would make the most devoted person wither:

v3 "How hast thou counseled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?"

v4 "To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?"

Then in a final (well not completely final) Job shows an edge to his words:

v5 "Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof."

Although there are many precious insights gained from Job and even his friends that give us an idea of when Job was written, when he lived and their knowledge of the earth; it seems to me that their conversations have turned accusatory in nature. We are leading up to another person who is waiting on the sidelines or in the wings if this were a play and not real life.

I think Job may be feeling some better. Perhaps the healing process has already begun. We will find out later and it seems obvious that Job has started to justify himself some. He also has become a critic of his 'friends'. I do not think it is a good thing to return spiteful words with the same.

The next verse goes back to the previous discussion of whether God is hide in heaven and cannot see what goes on on earth (as one friend said) or as Job rightfully said, that his eye is everywhere.

v6 "Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering, he stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." v7

That last verse would have helped NASA and scientist long ago if they had read the Bible: "He...hangeth the earth upon nothing."

Job goes on to talk about the clouds holding rain, how the oceans are held in place and relates their movement to the day and night (tides). The chapter but not the speech ends with this verse:

v14 "Lo, these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?"

Psalm 139:6 "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."

Job has shown that he knows a lot about most everything. He must have been a great teacher. But he reached the same conclusion as David in the verse above when he said:

Job 42:3 "Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not;"

Job speaks of God's expanse.

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