Job 25: 1 – 6
Why the Confusion?
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2 “Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places. 3 Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise? 4 How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? 5 If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight, 6 how much less man, who is a maggot, and a son of man, who is a worm?”
I am sure some of you might have thought before coming here, ‘How on earth is he going to teach the whole designated service time with only 6 verses?’ My answer -is‘very easily’. In fact take a look again at the 6 verses and see if there is anything that catches your attention? Not sure? Well look at the last statement of verse 6 –‘son of man’
You might have thought at one time or another or possibly been asked by someone these questions,
. Why did Jesus call Himself the ‘Son of Man?
. Why didn’t He call Himself the Son of God?
. Did He ever say that He was the Son of God?
At first thought we want to also ask, ‘why all this confusion.’ In actuality it is not confusing at all. In fact it is quite awesome. We are going to answer these questions shortly but first I wanted to take us back to Job’s time and his interaction with the three visitors.
Bildad here makes a very short reply to Job’s last remarks, as one that began to be tired of the cause. He drops the main issue concerning the prosperity of wicked men. One thing that now bothered him was that he thought Job had made too bold of statements of familiarity with the Divine Majesty of Almighty God in his appeals for a Heavenly trial. Job had called upon our Holy Ruler to give him a court hearing. This really bothered Bildad. He in a few words testifies that there is an infinite distance between God and man.
Bildad is to be commended here for two things:-First of all it is for not speaking anymore on the subject about which Job and he differed. Perhaps he began to think Job was in the right, and then it was justice to say no more concerning it, as one that contended for truth, not for victory, and therefore, for the finding of truth, would be content to lose the victory; or, if he still thought himself in the right, yet he knew when he had said enough, and would not wrestle endlessly for the last word. Perhaps indeed one reason why he and the rest of them let fall this debate was because they perceived that Job and they did not differ so much in opinion as they thought: they owned that wicked people might prosper a while, and Job owned they would be destroyed at last; how little then was the difference! If disputants would understand one another better, perhaps they would find themselves nearer one another than they imagined.
In addition Bildad spoke well on the matter about which Job and he were agreed. If we would all get our hearts filled with awesome thoughts of God and humble thoughts of ourselves, we should not be so ready to argue about matters of doubtful disagreements, which in reality serve no gainful purpose.
As we begin we read and understand that Bildad interjects his comments to exalt God and abase man
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2 “Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places. 3 Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise? 4 How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?
He states how Glorious God Is, and thence infers how guilty and impure man is before Him. The great things here said of God, is designed to correct Job to have a more reverence of the Creator. His having dominion (Lord) identifies Almighty God as both owner and ruler of all of His creatures. They are all His, and they are all under His direction and at His disposal. Hence it follows that He Is to be feared (that is, reverenced and obeyed), that He Is feared by all that know Him.
The angels are all perfectly observant of Him and entirely submissive in all He wills. Thus the will of God is done in heaven; and thus we pray that it may be done by us and others on earth.
In earthly rule the greatness and power of rulers are judged by their armies. God Is not only Himself Almighty, but He has numberless numbers of armies at His beck and disposal,—standing armies that are never disbanded,—regular troops, and well disciplined, that are never to seek, never at a loss, that never mutiny,—veteran troops, that have been long in His service,—victorious troops, that never failed of success nor were ever foiled. He is Lord of all, Lord of hosts. He has numberless armies, and yet makes peace. He could make war upon us, but is willing to be at peace with us; and He even sent some of the heavenly hosts to proclaim peace on earth and good will towards men
His providence extends itself to all of His creation. For example, the light of the sun reaches to all parts of the world. All of creation is under the light of His knowledge and are naked and open before Him. All partake of the light of His goodness. He Is good to all; the earth is full of his goodness. He is Deus Optimus—God, the best of beings, as well as Maximus—the greatest: He has power to destroy; but His pleasure is to show mercy. [Thank You Precious Holy Maker] All of His creatures live upon His resources.
On the other hand man is not only mean, but vile, not only earthly, but filthy; he cannot be justified, he cannot be clean. In comparison with God, man’s righteousness and holiness, at the best, is nothing to God.
Bildad states, to counter Job’s request to have a meeting with God, that because God Is so Great and Glorious, how can man, who is guilty and impure, appear before Him? Man, by reason of his actual transgressions, is obnoxious to God’s justice and cannot in himself be justified before him: he can neither plead not guilty, nor plead any merit of his own to balance or extenuate his guilt. The scripture has concluded all under sin.
Man, by reason of his original corruption, as he is born of a woman, is odious to God’s holiness, and cannot be clean in his sight. God sees his impurity, and it is certain that by it he is rendered utterly unfit for communion and fellowship with God in grace here and for the vision and fruition of him in glory hereafter.
To rectify this fact we need therefore to be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost
5 If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight, 6 how much less man, who is a maggot, and a son of man, who is a worm?”
Bildad then describes how dark and defective even the heavenly bodies are in the sight of God, and in comparison with Him, infers how little, and mean, and worthless, man is.
The lights of heaven, though beautiful creations, are before God are not pure in His sight. Mankind has been of old moved by their yet, in God’s sight, in comparison with Him, they have no glory. Under today’s telescopes we see that the heavenly bodies are often marked with faults. We plainly see spots in the moon and other planets. Our Holy God as always been aware of these spots that we do not see. So, the point that is brought out is -how can Job so confidently appeal to God of being totally innocent, when he does not totally know things that also might be spots which he was not aware of in himself?
The children of men, though noble creatures, are before God as worms of the earth who thrive in darkness. Therefore, how much less does man shine in honor. How much less is he pure in righteousness?
A worm is little and inconsiderable, in comparison with God and with the holy angels: so worthless and despicable. What little reason has man to be proud and what great reason to be humble! It is weak and impotent, and easily crushed, and therefore a very unequal match for Almighty God. Shall man then be so foolish to contend with his Maker, Who can tread him to pieces more easily than we can a worm?
As a result of our ancestor Adam’s fall mankind is not pure for he is a worm and therefore odious to God. Let us therefore wonder at God’s awesome mercy and grace in taking such worms as we are into covenant and communion with Himself, especially at the Sacrifice of the Son of God, in emptying Himself so far as to join us as this lowest creature. Look with me at Psalm 22 and witnessed the wonder of the suffering, praise, and posterity of the Messiah, “1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. 6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” 9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. 19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. 21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me. 22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard. 25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever! 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s, and He rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. 30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, 31 they will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this.”
Now let us get back to the question "What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of Man?" Jesus is referred to as the “Son of Man” 88 times in the New Testament. When He asked His disciples the question about His identity, He said, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ (Matthew 16:13). The Son of Man is a title that was used exclusively by Jesus - His disciples never addressed Him as such. Jesus used it to emphasize His humanity.
The title "Son of Man" first of all refers to the fact that Jesus was perfect humanity. God called the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” 93 times. God was simply calling Ezekiel a human being. A son of a man is a man. Jesus was fully God (John 1:1), but He was also a human being (John 1:14). First John 4:2 tells us, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Yes, Jesus was the Son of God—He was in His essence God. Yes, Jesus was also the Son of Man—He was in His essence a human being.
He, as God, came down and lived among us as the perfect human being. By doing this, He fulfilled the Law of Moses and did what no other human being was able to do. By using this title, He is identifying with the people He had come to save.
Please get this point down; even if the phrase “Son of Man” is a reference to Jesus' humanity, it is not a denial of His deity. By becoming a man, Jesus did not cease being God. The incarnation of Christ did not involve the subtraction of deity, but the addition of humanity. Jesus clearly claimed to be God on many occasions (Matthew 16:16,17; John 8:58; 10:30). But in addition to being divine, He was also human (see Philippians 2:6-8). He had two natures (divine and human) conjoined in one person.
Some people say that the term ‘Son of Man’ places an emphasis on Jesus’ humanity compared to ‘Son of God’ which places an emphasis on His divinity. This viewpoint however fails to take into account the significant historical context in which Jesus uses the term and how He understood it. How Jesus understood the term ‘Son of Man’ is important, since He used it of Himself more than any other term.
To find the answer, let us go back to the Old Testament and look at what the prophet Daniel said in chapter 7 verses 13 and 14.
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
It seems obvious from this scripture that when Jesus spoke of Himself as being the Son of Man, He had Daniel 7 in mind. The designation which our Lord Jesus used refers to the divine Son of Man of Daniel 7 who would rule with glory and power. Moreover, take note that the use of the term ‘the Son of Man’ also speaks that He was the pre-existent Son of God. He has always existed as we like to describe as the second Holy One of the Blessed Trinity.
This term is explained by Jesus Himself in John 10:33-36 where the Jews understood that Jesus claimed to be God.
The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” John 10:33
Take a look at these verses;
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. (John 3:13)
What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! (John 6:62)
The description “Son of Man” was also a Messianic title. Jesus Is the One who was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. When Jesus used this phrase, He was assigning the Son of Man prophecy to Himself. The Jews of that era would have been intimately familiar with the phrase and to whom it referred. Jesus was proclaiming Himself as the Messiah.
• Jesus also proclaimed that the Son of Man, the Son of God, and the Messiah (Christ) were the same person. Not only did He claim to be all three separately, but in an interesting passage He responds in the affirmative to the Jewish leadership’s linking both Son of God and Christ, then adds Son of Man:
The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ ‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered. (Matthew 26:63-66)
Now write down this paragraph and memorize it. The Lord Jesus was completely man and God. He was the God-man. He was and Is the eternal Holy God Who came in human flesh. Without being a man, He could not have died. If he Was not God, He would have been a sinner like us. But as the God –man, He was the sinless man – the only One to qualify to be the perfect sacrifice – a sinless sacrifice for our sins. He came back to life and ascended back to heaven. Because of His Great work we are forgiven and can again have fellowship with the Magnificent Creator. Thank you Lord.
