LIVE DISCUSSION: "God Made Me His Target" (Job 16:6-14) Part 2/4

Ever feel like the universe lined up against you—red lights, reroutes, closed doors—and then discover it may have saved you from something worse? We go straight at that tension through the lens of Job 16, where suffering feels like God is an enemy, yet faith keeps speaking to Him as Father. Our aim is not to gloss over grief but to trade reflexive complaining for first-response gratitude, trusting that providence is not random and that Romans 8 still holds when nothing else does.

We unpack how Scripture uses human emotional language—anthropopathism—to help us grasp God’s heart when pain distorts our vision. That lens changes everything: what looks like wrath can be severe mercy; what sounds like silence may be wise restraint. We chart the textual movement from “He” to “they” in Job, drawing out how mockery, violence, and conspiracy mirror Psalm 22 and culminate in Jesus Christ being surrounded, struck, and scorned. If the Father could weave the worst injustice into the greatest redemption, our present trials are not meaningless detours but guided steps.

Along the way, we bring it down to street level with everyday stories: the frustrating stoplights that later look like rescue, the GPS reroutes that shield you from pileups, the humbling shift from “Why me?” to “Thank You, even here.” We revisit Bunyan’s chained lions on the narrow path: fear roars, but the chains hold when we stay centered on God’s way. Expect honest wrestle, thoughtful exegesis, and practical ways to cultivate gratitude without denying sorrow—so you can move from panic to trust, complaint to hope, and confusion to confident patience.

If this conversation steadies your steps, share it with a friend who’s in a hard season, hit follow so you don’t miss new episodes, and leave a review telling us where you’ve seen hidden protection lately.

Transcript

Why We Complain In Trials

SPEAKER_05 0:00

To bring you some particular comfort that God is going to reveal to you later. See, the problem is so many Christians, they they want to complain and murmur like the Israelites did. And then only to, when they when they get into, when you get into a situation where everything is cleared up, then you're happier. And that happiness is momentary. You know, until the next trial. And then it starts complaining and murmuring all over again. And then when God gives spoon feeds you something and it's joyful, you take it again for the moment, and then you lapse right back again into the same type of thing, excuse me, that Christians have a tendency to do, which is to always, whenever anything happens that is inconvenient, to complain and murmur and moan and cry about why this is happening to me, why me? Why me? Why? And see, I think about this, and I get it. I get it. I'm not trying to condescend to anybody who gets like that. Um, because we all do. But but my point is we have to understand that there is nothing that happens to you that God is not causing to happen to you for reasons that are good for you. And that's what Paul tells us in Romans 8. And so this is one of those passages that I lean on quite a bit. Neither depth nor height, you know, far and wide, no, no matter what it is, nothing separates us, separates us from the love of God, and all things, all everything that happens to us is for our good, and they all happen to us because of God. There's no way around that. And when that really, when you really understand that, because the you know, the most Arminian Christian, the most Arminian of Christians out there, they all talk about, you know, you know, you know, the the protection of God.

SPEAKER_04 2:02

But in practice, they don't believe it.

SPEAKER_05 2:08

And they tell others don't believe that. They'll tell you, yeah, it's good. God will secure you if you want to be secured.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

But it's up to you. That's not the way I understand the word of God.

Thank God First, Even For Pain

SPEAKER_05 2:26

That is not the way.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

Jonathan? Yes. May I add one other thing? Uh, friends, Christians, brothers, sisters, everyone, when God presents you with a seemingly impossible situation and difficulty, the first step in dealing with it. Jonathan, tell me if you think I'm wrong. The first step, thank God for it. That's right. You don't have to like it. You can say this really stinks. That's fine. But thank him for it because, friends, he's got something for you in it.

Job’s Focus On God Over Devils

SPEAKER_05 3:03

Amen. Amen. That's I I couldn't agree more, brother. Couldn't agree more. Thank you for that. Brother Pat, go ahead. And then Lisa.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

You know, something else that strikes me is how different Job is to what you hear in modern-day Christianity. Have you noticed that all this stuff is going on in his life? I haven't heard one word about the devil, or you know what, what demons are up to and worried about, you know what I mean? Oh man, uh man, maybe my friends are uh possessed by the devil and you know, and all that. That's all we hear in today's like Christianity. And to Job, he's not caught up in all that, right? He knows that the source and the outcome is determined by God, and he just goes right to the source.

“It Is Me, For Your Good”

SPEAKER_05 3:50

That's right. That's what that's what you gotta do. Good point, real good point, because you're right. And there's two aspects, brother. One, what you just described. Job doesn't talk about it, number one, but God is not talking about it. In other words, in terms of like like whoever God has who whoever God has caused to write this, it was obviously in the mind of God not to have that be what we need to be reflecting on. And here's the thing. And so, in this way, in this really indirect way, not even indirect, it's very dirt direct when you start from the beginning, because God is saying, you're going to go through a lot. And I want to tell you, I want to tell you that it is me doing it. It is me, and it is for your good. Smart under it. Bear it, I will carry you through it. And so, and I think that's that's one of the I think that's one of the overriding issues in this book, because it is it it really is about because see when you see in Job 1, God saying to Satan, try my servant Job. Okay, if Job had this quote unquote free will, that goes out the window. God gave Satan permission to do his worst. And no matter what Job thought, or would have been thinking when he started enduring this, he couldn't change it.

SPEAKER_04 5:29

He couldn't change it.

SPEAKER_05 5:32

But oh what we what we can do, what we can do is to smart under the rod of God, to take it, to trust him. And that's what it what I mean by to take it, to trust him always and in all things. And so, good observation, brother Pat. Excellent observation. Um, Sister Lisa, and then Rod, and then I'll get to verse nine.

Free Will, Providence, And Job

SPEAKER_06 5:59

Well, you guys, I just wanted to bring up um something for you to think about the next time that you have some of these inconveniences that come over your life. This has happened to me, and God just brought it to my remembrance. Um, for instance, you know, you're running late to work, and you know you're late and you've got to get there and you're gonna get in trouble. You're already, you're already running half an hour behind. You hit a light, you hit the second light, you hit every single light, and all you want to do is complain, and you can't understand what the heck is going on, and your your face is red, and you're hanging onto that steering wheel, white knuckling it. Come on, light, come on, light. And then you get to work, and you you might get in trouble or whatever the case may be. Maybe nothing happens, maybe it does. But anyway, it starts off your day really, really not in a great place, you're in a bad mood, and then you come to find out there's a 10-car pilot that if you hadn't missed any of those lights, you would have been involved in, you know, or you know what I mean? Yep. And that's actually happened to me. And when it did happen, and I realized, Lord, you know, you talk about humbling a person because I sat there and I used to be a big complainer. I'd complain about the weather. If there was snow, I'd complain. If there's wind, I'd complain. The only time Lisa wasn't griping is if the sun was shining. And um, I gotta tell you, I have learned uh, you know, God is so good. And and he's he's kind enough just to let me, he, oh my goodness, he's just amazing enough just to let me be that way and then show me see instead of you know, you know what I mean? He could have he could have smacked me down, you know, because I was not being respectful whatsoever.

Everyday Detours As Protection

SPEAKER_05 7:56

No, we we we we default to the complaints and the murmur, and you know, and sometimes we'll we'll even call out to God, why you let this happen to me? I've done that, you know, and and um, you know, but that but that's how we do it. But that's what I meant when I said that we don't sometimes we don't realize that these these these things that we see as being inconveniences are actually for our good. We just don't see it at the moment. But God sees all things, he sees all things, and that's the beauty of being made uh to know him, being able to know him, and to and to be able to learn how he moves. We don't know all the intricate details of uh of God and whatever, but we do know that everything that he does, everything that happens to us is something he does, and it's something that he is orchestrating to work out in such a way that he's glorified first and that we are blessed by him in it. And that's what we have to continue to understand and never lose sight of. All right, Brother Rod, and then I'll get to verse verse nine.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

I'll make it quick, but I'm just gonna, because you kind of touched everybody pre before me just touched on my my main point. So just starting with Brother Jeff this morning with his um encouraging uh statement, uh his devotional this morning, because it did encourage me and crack me through my day today. Uh just when he said, uh, you know, with me and you'll be you'll overcome. I'm I'm I'm shorting it up just for for sake of time purposes. But it's been sticking with me. And then uh even with what Brother Pat just said about just no mention of it, because you know, it's just knowing that there's no mention of like the devil or anything like that, just knowing that because God is there, you know, and then it humbles you in a sense because knowing that God is just great. So with me, even I like she said something about the 10 car pile up and going to work thing, you know. Like I know sometimes when I'm driving to my weddings and things like that, it may like, you know, the the GPS may reroute me. And sometimes I'm like, well, what is it doing? You know, whatever, whatever. And then I complain or whatever because I'm trying to drive. And the next thing I know, I may look over when I'm on the new route and I see why. Right. You know, so it's just so crazy how he's in everything, you know, and I'm always like, well, what is this? God, what did God what you going? You know, just little small remarks I've said prior to giving my life back to Christ, but now that I'm here and it just touches on with Brother Jeff's thing this uh devotional this morning, just with me, you know, you'll always overcome. So I just and then right here in the chat, being able to just discuss it is just even more powerful.

Trusting Guidance On Life’s Road

Interpreting Job 16:9

Anthropopathism Explained

How Affliction Distorts Perception

SPEAKER_05 10:33

Yeah, the road analogy is good because the the reality is our life is that road. Our whole is that road. At least we're talking about that you're talking about. It's our life. And God sees the end from the beginning in our life. He sees where we're going, He sees what we don't see. And he's guiding us, but it takes the spiritual heart to listen to the communication, to get the communication right. You know, to know that he sees I'm just I'm just going in the direction he points me to. And so, and it's and it's a great, it's a it's a great thing because it once you realize that and accept that, man, it makes your life so much easier. It really does. It makes it a lot easier. It doesn't make it perfect, but it makes it a lot easier. So verse 9. Job still talking to God. He's speaking, speaking about God. He says, He tears me in his wrath, who hateth me. He gnashes upon me with his teeth. My enemy sharpens his eyes upon me. And see, here's where Job is starting to talk a little bit kind of strange. But but it is not what it sounds like. He's not saying that God is cherrying him in his wrath. He's not saying specifically, he's not saying that God hates him. He knows that that's not true. And he doesn't, he knows that he's not God's enemy, and that he's and that and that he is not his enemy. But what Job is describing is how it feels when you're going through something like this. It feels like that. It is the way, you know, there's a word that we use. Um most people understand the word is anthropomorphic, the language. But when it comes but anthropomorphic has to has to do with physical connections. So here's what I mean. An anthropomorphism is like when the Bible says God has wings or God has hands or God has feet. God uses anthropomorphic language. In other words, speaks about things that men understand physically that help us in understanding the message God wants to make us understand. So if it says God has wings, the whole idea is that God flies and he's swift. You know, if he has hands and we are in his hands, he's saying that we can't fall out of his hands. That's an anthropomorphism. But but what what Job is talking about here is almost as different. It's what's called, and I'm just giving you these things so when you hear it or you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about it's talking about. This is called anthropopathism based on man's emotions. God, so when we when we talk about God's love, God's hate, God's um gentleness, his kindness, these these are or or his um um his affections, these are called anthropopathisms. These are the ways where God wants to express to us what we are supposed to understand through human terms how God feels about a given situation or us. And so we have to understand God is so much above man. There's no way for him to describe his emotions or his physicality, which he has neither, but there's an expectation that he has of us to understand him that way in terms of how his providence affects us. And that may be a little complicated, but that's okay. So if you have a question, just write to me and I'll talk to you about it. But that's what I'm trying to point out. God uses language that is designed to accommodate finite, frail man. We can't understand God as he is, the way he is, but he speaks to us in ways that accommodates our frailties. And so Job here, you know, he describes God's dealings as though they were acts of hostility. But not because he believes God is unjust or God is evil or God is angry or he's mad, but because suffering can sometimes cloud the way we see things and we respond in a way that is not consistent with true spirituality and understanding God. We feel that the world is against us when things go bad, and we have a tendency to sometimes think that maybe even God is against us at times too. And this is what Job is dealing with. The language shows how divine affliction appears to the afflicted. In other words, he knows that this is that what's happening to him is as has fallen from the hands of God. But what he is doing is speaking as the one who is afflicted and describing what it feels like. If my enemy were doing this, this is what it would be. But Job knows it's coming from God, and he knows that God is good. But when you're going through affliction, everything feels terrible. And you get to the point where you think that maybe even God is angry with you. And and I think this is what he he is saying. And on this one, I'm open to different uh, you know, different um viewpoints on this whole thing. But I think this is really what he's getting at. Because we I know for I don't believe for one second he believed God hates him. And I know I don't believe for one second that he believes he's undergoing any kind of wrath or uh of a of a of uh in terms of retribution. I don't believe he believes that. And I don't believe he believes that God is his enemy or that he uh is an enemy, but I think that what he is doing is speaking from the standpoint of the one being afflicted, how it feels. Sister Lisa, go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 16:36

So I have a question. Do you think he's possibly saying so um in my it I'm reading the ESV and it and it called it it stops that he has gnashed his teeth at me and he's speaking of God, but then he says, My adversary sharpens his eyes against me.

SPEAKER_04 16:59

Right.

SPEAKER_06 17:00

Do you do you think for the first time he's maybe considering that um that it is um the accuser, mean no, he he he knows that God um is sovereign in it, but do you think that he's recognizing it's coming from No, I don't think I don't think he's thinking about the devil.

Is Job Addressing Friends Or God

SPEAKER_05 17:21

I don't I don't think this is talking about see see the the the thing is there are because I tell you what, if that were the case, then a lot of these charismatic folks are running around, they would have an argument to stand on here. But no, I think that he is speaking um in a, I don't know what you would call it, but it it but in other words, in like in a metaphorical sense, he's not he I think that Job is feeling the weight of his distress. And I don't think that he is, he uh I think he's talking about God. I don't think he's talking about Satan at all. We just we just saw earlier, a few verses back, how he acknowledged that his exhaustion and and the weariness come you know came from God. He acknowledged the sovereignty of God in this whole matter. Um so I don't think Job is making some shift to to Satan, and there's no indication of that whatsoever. Um, but what I will, what I am willing to entertain is that that there's possibly some indication in here that he is sort of weakening in terms of how God is looking at him. That's possible. Um I don't I I I have not been convinced of that uh yet, but I'm not closed off, and I'm not gonna tell somebody that's ridiculous to think that. So, you know, so this this is really probably in in my past studies and even up even during this study, this is probably the most troubling verse for me to interpret um so far in the entire book of Job.

SPEAKER_06 19:04

Okay, what about this? Do you think he could be speaking of Eliphaz? Because Eliphaz was the one who was just giving him lip service right before, and he sort of goes and he's answering Eliphaz earlier in this chapter, and then he sort of switches to crying out to God here. But this one says my adversary.

SPEAKER_04 19:24

Right.

SPEAKER_06 19:24

So maybe do you think maybe he's actually considering that Eliphaz is actually his adversary in this whole thing?

SPEAKER_05 19:31

It's possible. It's it's possible. I I'll tell you the the the jury's out on that one with me. Uh, you know, this is one of those kind, this is one of those verses where I have to I have to faithfully admit to you that uh there's room for my understanding to shift on this one. Uh you know, you know, there's room for that. I will admit that. Um this is a this was a tough verse to really to really assess. And it's not just for me, it's for it's for um a lot of folks that you know that I have looked at to to weigh in on it. Um uh sister Mariah, go ahead.

Possible Readings Of “Adversary”

SPEAKER_00 20:05

Um I wanted to ask, is it wrong to think like um raising children, you know, when um the father or the parents, whoever, they pull a tight rope on the child and the child begins to feel that weight, and they're like, why do you hate me? You don't let me do X, Y, and Z. I can't do anything, or whatever the case may be. And they begin to think that their parents hate them for the discipline or the strictness that they have on them. Right. It's really out of love that they're doing what they're doing, and they just can't see it yet. And then when they get older or mature, then they're able to under come to understanding on what it was that was actually being done. Is that a good way to look at it?

SPEAKER_05 20:58

That is, and I think and my next comment to you, my next comment will be about that very thing. So that's a very good comment and a timely one. So I'm gonna let Pat say something, then I'm then I'm gonna address what you said, Mariah, because that's a good point. Go ahead, brother Pat.

Pilgrim’s Progress And The Lions

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Well, I don't know if I'm off base, but it's similar to what Mariah, uh what Mariah is saying. That actually one of the worst fights I ever had with my um with my wife was over um, she had a family member that was trying to get us involved in in shady stuff that we just had a big disagreement, and we couldn't get over this disagreement that that I had with my wife, and 20 minutes went by, and 45, and and and finally I started to realize there was a uh a dynamic change. I felt like um my my usual best friend is like my enemy. You know what I mean? And I had to go to her and and say, Hey, listen, even if we don't see eye to eye on this, just remember, um I'm not your enemy. You know what I mean? That's that's the worst part. I'm on your side even when we disagree. And I can't help but but but wonder this passage is a difficult passage. Um if he's using language to um to sort of express that he feels cursed, perhaps. You know, something somet something like that, maybe.

Holding The Tension In Verse 9

Shift To “They” In Verse 10

Parallels To Psalm 22 And Christ

Mockery, Violence, And Conspiracy

SPEAKER_05 22:26

Yeah, let me let me let me tell you how how I view this. Because first of all, he he starts off very early in this in this chapter, but more importantly, he starts here um speaking to God, about God, speaking to God, right? And and so there doesn't there's no transition um to me that will warrant that he changes it even here. Um because and we have to be we have to be careful about that because we can't shift the context to make something that we want, to make something fit. You see what I mean? So there's no reason to think he's he he changed the subject of who it is he's talking about. But it's better, it's wiser to take the easiest road first, because that because like I said, it can change, it can be something different, but you don't want to just do that without any kind of warrant that you can justify and that's reasonable. So here's the way I look at it because I think that the person who did it best, and this this is what makes me see it. Um this is what makes me double down on my perspective of this. Um, John Bunyan. Now, I don't know how many of you guys have read Pilgrim's Progress, but I don't think any Christian alive should go to the grave not having read Pilgrim's Progress. I'm just telling you, if there's ever a recommendation that I would make to you sometime in your life, read Pilgrim's Progress. Read it. There's one major, there's one area in there that John Bunyan talks about, which is what I look at this verse as. And that is when Christian is on his journey and he's on this road and he's getting near the what's called the celestial city. And the celestial city, we all know, is the city of God, that's heaven, that's that's where you're going. So as he approaches, as he approaches, there are these two massive, fierce, ferocious, roaring lions on both sides of the path that he's on, one on each side. And they are just they're laying there and they're just ready to pounce, roaring and slobbering, you know, doing what lions do. And Christian is afraid. He's afraid, he doesn't know what to do. And so he's encouraged. You just I don't want to tell you, you got to read the book. But he's but he but he eventually walks down to the middle of the path. He stays on the road, he stays on the straight road, the narrow road. And that's his thing. Don't be distracted by what's going on on the outside, stay on the road. And it's these two lines. So when he starts to walk, when he starts to walk down, he finds he realizes the lions that they jump up and start doing what they do, but then Christian sees the chains that are holding them back so that they can't come onto that road and plot and pound on Christian. They were chained the whole time, but he didn't see the chains. And I think that's what this is is is similar. It is like, in other words, God has allowed Job to see him this way, but is but God put this fear in his in his heart, he put this this perspective in his heart, because what is it designed to do? To keep him on his task, to stay faithful, to stay on path, which Job always does. He always does. And remember this there's no this is about how Job sees God, not how God actually is. This is how his affliction is causing him to view these things, but it is not the way it really is. And so even though, think about it, if you're Christian and you're on this path, you're on the you're on the narrow road, it makes you wonder, well, I'm on the road, so what are these lions here for? If God wants me to come down on this road, he's the one telling me to stay on this straight, narrow path, then what's the reason for these, for these, for these, uh, these lions here? But when you read Pilgrim's Progress, you see that the whole book is like this: the sloth of the spond, you know, the lions. Um you do yourself a favor, read Pilgrim's Progress, because it is an allegory of the Christian journey. And it and I like to try to draw illustrations from that book to enhance messages that um I like to uh speak about. But anyway, that's how I kind of see this, uh, Sister Mariah and everybody else and Pat. Because, like I said, there's no, there's nothing that suggests any kind of a transition. When he talks about the enemy, he's not talking about any one enemy. He's talking about the enemy in general, but I think he's speaking about God. I think he's addressing God this way. Um, but not because he believes God is the as this is this character, but because that's what his afflictions make him feel as that is what is happening. He's he's he's feeling like his treatment is the one that is deserving of an enemy. But remember, he's still confused. He still doesn't know what's going on. But again, if somebody, if any of you would come up with something different, I'm definitely willing to hear it. I'd like to hear it, really, because it is a tough verse. Um and it is difficult to try to see how, well, if it is Job, then what certainty do we have that he's shifting from speaking in literal terms to more figurative terms? And again, you would have something of an argument there. But what the argument that isn't there is that he makes a transition to talking about somebody different. There's much more of an argument to be made that he's still talking about God as opposed to shifting and saying all of a sudden the Satan is being injected here. Um, but what Lisa, what you said, it could be plausible. It could be something to do with his friends or or them as a collective, you know. So there's there's an argument that can be made there. Um but the idea that we need to understand here is that Job is feeling is feeling this way. And that's what we we need to take away from it. All right, so verse 10. Verse 10. And again, I don't want to, if so, if anybody has something they want to add to that, um hold on to it, and then I'll let you I'll let you speak to it. Um, because I don't I don't like to leave things left open uh if you have something to say. So verse 10. They have, Job says, they have gaped upon me with their mouth. They have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully. They have gathered themselves together against me. Now, Lisa, this is where if I'm you, I'm starting to build my argument for the case you are presenting. Because this seems like he's talking about they, and it doesn't seem to me that he's talking about God.

SPEAKER_06 29:52

So that's what I was thinking, right here.

SPEAKER_05 29:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, and that's what I mean. There's an argument that can be made there, and I and I and I admit, I want everybody to understand, I really believe that Job verse 9 is is so far, it is the most difficult verse for me to deal with um in this whole this whole session so far. And there's there's a couple that come later, but this is probably the most difficult. Um, and rightly so, verse 10 would make you think that there's something different here. They have gaped upon me with their mouth, they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully, they have gathered themselves together against me. Does anybody hear a familiar refrain in this verse? Anybody?

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Jesus where when um when he was being presented to the cross, no.

SPEAKER_05 30:50

You're you're you're you're right, but you you got evidence of it? Because you I know you know what I'm talking about. That I know. What do you think? Where would you go for this?

SPEAKER_06 30:59

Was it when he was in front of Cephas?

SPEAKER_05 31:02

No. Let me read it. Let me read it. Um in Psalm chapter 22, in verse 10, Psalm 22, verse 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb. You are my God for my mother's belly. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me around. Listen to verse 13. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening, ravening, and roaring lion. Look at verse 10 again in Job 16. They have gaped upon me with their mouths. They have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully. They have gathered themselves together against me. So, Lisa, you may have an argument here. You may have an argument here, sister. You really do. You may have an argument. And my, you know, my approach may be more rigid than it should be. Because that this right here seems to be speaking more broadly and not about God Himself, because God is not they in the sense of, you know, outside of the Trinity, but I'm talking about He's not they in terms of people who Job is dealing with right now. But, you know, but you get this in verse 20, in Psalm 22, 13, this direct verbal parallel in what Job is saying and what is spoken prophetically about the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now I cheated because in my notes I told myself to ask everybody to um find Christ in this in this chapter, and I forgot to do that. So sometimes I tell myself what to do and don't even pay attention to myself. But but anyway, it's out there. Go ahead, Mariah. What are you gonna say?

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Um I think both are right, you know, though, because he starts off and he's speaking about his friends, and then he changes it towards God. But ultimately, we know that it was um God who had them and set them up for the a time such as that, you know? And um, so I think he's going back and forth between his friends and God, and ultimately, like we haven't gotten there, but it's God who has delivered him into the hands of the ungodly, just as it was that God delivered Christ into the hands of the ungodly.

SPEAKER_05 33:43

Amen. See, that's what I'm talking about. That's that's this is what is happening here, and so um, and see the the this, like I'm telling you right now, like right now, I'm just blessed right now because this is the best benefit of this kind of a fellowship. And I and I love it because I'm learning something here tonight. Because even because the entire time that I that I've studied these notes and went over all these things, I never even I didn't look at it this way. Um but again, I did admit, I do admit it was hard trying to really deal with verse nine. But I think there's some truth to the direction that um Elisa brought up. I think there's a lot of truth to that, and I think that verse 10 would be the strongest proof of that. And but and now when you add another layer to the fact about how Joe does transition between speaking directly about his friends and transitioning from to God, I I think there's something there. There's something, excuse me, there's something that is worthy of further um examination, certainly on my part, for sure. So um, thank you guys for just being such a good, solid group of people. I love you to death, I really do. Um, so here they gaped upon me with their mouth, smit me upon the cheek reproachfully, gathered themselves together against me. So you got three things that are happening here. The first, mockery. They opened their mouths, gaping, to mock. That's what Job's friends were doing. They were mocking. So I do think it is clear that here he's talking about his friends, and then there's the violence. They have smitten me upon the cheek with violence, mockery, and the violence, and then they have gathered themselves together against me. What is this?

SPEAKER_04 35:49

Conspiracy. We know who all these things happen to.

SPEAKER_05 35:59

It happened to our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read this verse, verse 10, even if you have a problem with verse 9 and verse 10 connecting, connecting the two and and whatever it may be, one thing that can't should not escape you is the resemblance uh or the similarity between the text, which is basically using almost the exact words that is spoken of about the coming Messiah, because he, it is said, they would, they had gaped their mouth, gaped upon him with their mouths as a ravening lying, as a ravening and roaring lying. But they mocked him, they acted out violently against him, and they did this together. And this wasn't just the Israelites who did it to him, it was them in conjunction with the Romans. So you had the Gentiles as well as the Jews, the Jews working together to be to crucify the Holy One, God's one and only Son. Job here, he returns briefly to this whole idea of human hostility, describing how others have responded to his condition. So he's definitely talking about his friends. And as I said, he's mocked and reproached. He's falsely accused. He is thought that it is thought that he what they were doing were what they were doing was indicting him with a charge that is completely baseless. And it's not even, it's more, it's worse than being baseless.