The Bible Story Part 309

Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; He eateth gra.s.s as an ox.

Lo now, his strength is in his loins, And his force is in the muscles of his belly. {228} He moveth his tail like a cedar: The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

His bones are as tubes of bra.s.s; His limbs are like bars of iron.

He is the chief of the ways of G.o.d: He only that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

Surely the mountains bring him forth food; Where all the beasts of the field do play.

He lieth under the lotus trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.

The lotus trees cover him with their shadow; The willows of the brook compa.s.s him about.

Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not: He is confident, though Jordan swell even to his mouth.

Shall any take him when he is on the watch, Or pierce through his nose with a snare?

Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fish hook?

Or press down his tongue with a cord?

Canst thou put a rope into his nose?

Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?

Will he make many supplications unto thee?

Or will he speak soft words unto thee?

Will he make covenant with thee, That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?

Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?

Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? {229} Shall the bands of fishermen make traffic of him?

Shall they part him among the merchants?

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, Or his head with fish spears?

Lay thine hand upon him; Remember the battle, and do so no more.

Behold, the hope of him is in vain: Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

None is so fierce that he dare stir him up: Who then is he that can stand before me?

Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him?

Whatsoever is under the whole heaven in mine.

I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Nor his mighty strength, nor his comely proportion.

Who can strip off his outer garment?

Who shall come within his double bridle?

Who can open the doors of his face?

Round about his teeth is terror.

His strong scales are his pride, Shut up together as with a close seal.

One is so near to another, That no air can come between them.

They are joined one to another; They stick together, that they cannot be sundered.

His nostrils flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

Out of his mouth go burning torches, And sparks of fire leap forth.

Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth, {230} As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.

His breath kindleth coals, And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.

In his neck abideth strength, And terror danceth before him.

The flakes of his flesh are joined together: They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.

His heart is as firm as a stone; Yea, firm as the nether millstone.

When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid; By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.

If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail; Nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.

He counteth iron as straw, And bra.s.s as rotten wood.

The arrow cannot make him flee: Slingstones are turned with him into stubble.

Clubs are counted as stubble: He laugheth at the rus.h.i.+ng of the javelin.

His underparts are like sharp potsherds: He spreadeth as it were a thres.h.i.+ng wain upon the mire.

He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: He maketh the sea like ointment.

He maketh a path to s.h.i.+ne after him; One would think the deep to be h.o.a.ry.

Upon earth there is not his like, That is made without fear.

He beholdeth every thing that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride.

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JOB.

(He replies to the Lord.)

I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.

Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?

Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not, Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee, Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes.

(Jehovah speaks from the storm. Job has questioned why he suffered.

Can he expect the question to be answered? Let him look to nature about him. Does he understand the daily doings of nature? Does he know how the world was created, or how the rain and the snow come? Can he guide the stars? Does he understand the strange instincts of the animals? Can he control even one of the great works of G.o.d? How then will he think to comprehend the dealings of G.o.d in his own life?

G.o.d does not try to answer the question of why Job suffers. He tries to raise Job to such a position of trust in him that he will not ask the question. The solution of the question lies, not in the knowledge of their answers, but in a trust of G.o.d which does not demand an answer, for it sums up all answers in one--that G.o.d is wise and good.

This is not unreasoning; for G.o.d reasons from his works that Job can see to the deep things of life that he cannot see. If Job sees G.o.d's wisdom in the one, he may trust his wisdom in the other.

So the problem of why Job suffers is at last solved; only the solution is not one of knowledge, but of trust, and Job finds more than a solution; he finds G.o.d. "Now mine eye seeth Thee.")

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EPILOGUE.

And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Now therefore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourself a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath." So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: and the Lord accepted Job. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-a.s.ses. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. And after this Job lived an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.

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SELECTIONS FROM THE SONG OF SONGS

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The "Song of Songs," sometimes called "Solomon's Song," and "Canticles," is a collection of Hebrew wedding songs. These songs in form and spirit approach nearer to what we call lyric poetry than anything else in the literature of the Bible. In their exquisite freshness and grace they may well be compared with the lyrical poetry of the Elizabethan period in England.

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HIS BANNER OVER ME WAS LOVE

As a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons.

I sat down under his shadow with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love.

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