JOB 26

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

Dead Things

—The obscurity attaching to the passage

"Dead things are formed under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof" (Job. 26:5),

is somewhat dispelled by translating it agreeable to the use of the same Hebrew words in some other places. First, the word things, it will be observed is in italics, and therefore forms no part of the original. Its presence there gives the word rephaim, rendered "dead," another application than it possesses in the other places where it occurs. In these, it always denotes dead men, not dead things; as may be seen in the following instances of its use:

"Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee? (Ps. 88:10);

"Her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead" (Pro. 2:18);

"the dead are there" (9:18);

"The congregation of the dead" (21:16);

"Hell . . stirreth up the dead for thee" (Isa. 14:9);

"Thy dead shall live, my dead body shall they arise . . the earth shall cast out the dead" (26:19).

In this case the translators have added men in italics, in the other instance things. It is men that are referred to in these quotations, and therefore presumably so in the passage in question; but "the dead," "thy dead," and "my dead," are sufficiently expressive of the matter referred to without any italic extensions of their meaning.

Next to this the Hebrew term rendered "formed," is a word expressive of labour-pain, as may be seen from its use in the following places—Job. 15:20; Ps. 48:6; Isa. 13:8; 26:17, 18; 66:7; Jer. 6:24; 22:23; hence its employment also to express "brought forth" (Prov. 8:24, 25; Isa. 45:10).

Now applying this last rendering to the case in point, the passage would read thus:

"The dead are brought forth from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof."

This agrees with the next verse, which goes on to say that "Hell is naked before him." The whole reminds us of the words,

"the sea gave up its dead," and "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,"

as also of the saying "having loosed the pains (or birth-pangs) of death." In the light of this rendering (justified by the Septuagint, so far as the word "formed" goes, which it renders "born"), the passage has the appearance of referring to the resurrection. In that case it follows well, after Job's challenging words to Bildad—"whose spirit came from thee?"

The Christadelphian, Apr 1889

7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

INTELLIGENT DESIGN ~ NOT CHANCE.

Planet Earth. A sublime wonder excluding chance or evolution, but the design and work of an Almighty Creator.

Structure.

The earth is not a solid ball, but has an internal structure of core (nickel iron), mantle and crust. Geologists have recognised this from seismic velocities which reflect differing layers. The core revolves with the rotation of the earth, and creates the protective magnetosphere. Hear is a miracle of design. Without the magnetosphere the planet would be continually bombarded with deadly solar particles and cosmic rays rendering organic life impossible.

Mantle. The next layer, above the core, is the thick molten mantle, which under huge pressure, consists of molten igneous materials basically granitic and basaltic in composition. When extruded at the earth's surface, these form volcanoes and fiery lava fIows, burning up everything before their incandescent fire (Rev 1.) reminding one of Vesuvius, which destroyed the sin city of Pompei in AD79, by similar gas and ash outpourings with thunder and lightning of divine wrath.

Gems of the Diadem.

When intruded into the crust, the-upper mantle forms igneous rocks and intrusions, e.g, granite batholiths such as underly the Rocky Mountains, and basaltic ocean-floors, and continental shields such as the Pilbara of Australia, the Laurentian Shield of Canada and Labrador the Bushveld complex of South Africa, or the Arabian Shield which includes Mount Sinai (Ex 19.)

Such areas are rich in mineral and mined since ancient times for gold, silver, precious stones iron ore and copper (brass). (See Job 28 for abundant details of this ancient mining). Used in the Tabernacle and Temple and from pre flood times by Tubal Cain an artificer in iron and brass (copper) (Gen.4:22). The Greeks were noted for their use of bronze (an alloy of copper and tin), (tin was brought from Tarshish Baratanac by Tyrian ships), gold from Ophir, Rome noted for iron (see Dan 2 Image), for their two edged swords (Eph.6), and many other articles.

Earth's crust.

All sedimentary rocks or strata are found here. In this relatively thin layer, formed by erosion and deposition, or precipitation from the oceans. It is the earth's crust which directly relates to human habitation, society and activities, and all plant and animal life. Important sedimentary rocks are Limestones such as form many of the Mediterranean lands - Spain. Italy, Greece, Israel (from which are built Solomon's Temple from huge limestone quarries with thousands of workers (2Chron.2.18); the city of Jerusalem, and the future great Temple of Ezekiel's prophecy; sandstones (Edomite hills), sand and clay or mudstone (Gen. 15, Dan.2, Hbk.2.6, Gen.2.7).

Metamorphosis.

Some rocks are altered by heat and pressure to form metamorphic rocks and here a lesson "be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed (metamorphosis) by the renewing of your minds" (Rom.12.1). By such metamorphic processes, diamonds and gemstones are formed such as those in High Priest's bejewelled breastplate of judgment. This also applies to butterflies, a beautiful creature transformed from an humble grub.

All this is the work of an Almighty Creator (Gen. I , Pslm.104, Pv.8). Generally rocks and stones figure prominently in the Bible such as flint (ls.50.7,Josh.5.3 mgn.), coal (Is.6.6,7). Tsur = immoveable rock, a title of Deity (Deut. 32.4, Ps.l8~1). Christ the smitten rock Ex. 17.6,7. whom the builders rejected, , but is become the head of the corner (ls.28.16, Ps.118.22), who will smite the lmage Colossus (Dan.2.35,45).

Tectonic plates.

Volcanoes and earthquakes have been found to be concentrated along well defined tectonic belts which divide the earth's surface up into tectonic plates and zones of crustal instability where, the plates collide and subduct, such as the San Andreas fault in California, the circum Pacific "Ring of Fire," the Mid Atlantic ridge includes Iceland, very volcanic. Mountain belts are formed where plates collide such as the Andes, Rockies, Alps, Mount Ararat, and Himalayas, or island arcs and archipelagos such as Indonesia.

As in the Flood, God can use all these features to humble down arrogant man, when he will rise and shake the earth, and they shall flee, into the caves and holes of the earth (Is.2.19-22). The Mount of Olives will split and cause a massive earth shock to relandscape the Holy Land, and elevate Mount Zion to the top of the mountains, when all nations will flow there to learn of his ways (ls.2.1-5, Zech.14.4-11, Ps.68.l4-17).

Then the earth shall be totally transformed, lofty nations humbled by tsunami, earthquakes and storms (Ezk.38.19-23). The ten commandments were written on tables of Sinai stone (granite). These will be reimposed in the Kingdom along with laws to discipline all flesh and and cause them to submit to Christ and the saints through the Millenium (Is.2.3, Ps.100).

The Apocalyptic Messenger, June 2018

thomas.lister1@btinternet.com

13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

'What are we to make of the Spirit's individuality?'

Why, just what the Bible makes of it. It is as inseparable from God himself as his wisdom, knowledge, life, and power. It is the medium of connection between Him and all his works; so that by it he is everywhere present, though corporeally a million of years removed from some parts of his universe.

By it He is cognisant of the fall of a sparrow upon earth, and at the same instant, of events in the stars billions of leagues remote. 'There is nothing hid from him.' No man hath seen God at any time; but by his spirit he makes himself known, as to his 'holy men' of ancient time.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Dec 1852

THE SERPENT.

"It was more subtle than any beast of the field."

The Serpent was one of "the living things that moved upon the earth," and which the Lord God pronounced "very good." Moses says, it was more subtle, or shrewd, than any of the creatures the Lord God made. It was, probably, because of this quality of shrewdness, or quickness of perception, that Adam named it nachash...

It was, doubtless, the chief of the serpent tribe, as it is styled "the" serpent; and, seeing that it was afterwards condemned to go upon its belly as a part of its sentence, it is probable, it was a winged-serpent in the beginning -- fiery, but afterwards deprived of the power of flight, and made to move as at present.

Its subtlety, or quickness of perception by eye and ear, and skilfulness in the use of them (panourgia) was a part of the goodness of its nature. It was not an evil quality by any means; for Jesus exhorts His disciples to "be wise as the serpents; and unsophisticated (akeraioi) as the doves."

This quality of shrewdness, or instinctive wisdom, is that which principally strikes us in all that is said about it. It was an observant spectator of what was passing around it in the garden, since the Lord God planted it eastward in Eden. It had seen the Lord God and His companion Elohim. He had heard their discourse.

He was acquainted with the existence of the Tree of Knowledge, and the Tree of Lives; and knew that the Lord God had forbidden Adam and his wife to eat of the good and evil fruit; or so much as to touch the tree. He was aware from what he had heard, that the Elohim knew what good and evil was experimentally; and that in this particular, Adam and Eve were not so wise as they.

But, all this knowledge was shut up in his own cranium, from which it could never have made its exit, had not the Lord God bestowed upon it the power of expressing its thoughts in speech.

And what use should we naturally expect such a creature would make of this faculty? Such as one, certainly, as its cerebral constitution would enable it to manifest. It was an intellectual, but not a moral creature. It had no "moral sentiments." No part of its brain was appropriated to the exercise of benevolence, veneration, conscientiousness, and so forth.

To speak phrenologically, it was destitute of these organs; having only "intellectual faculties" and "propensities." Hence, its cerebral mechanism, under the excitation of external phenomena, would only develope, what I would term, an animal intellectuality.

Moral, or spiritual ideas would make no impression upon its mental constitution; for it was incapable from its formation of responding to them. It would be physically impossible for it to reason in harmony with the mind of God; or with the mind of a man, whose reasoning was regulated by divinely enlightened moral sentiments. Its wisdom would be that of the untutored savage race, whose "sentiments" by the desuetude of ages, had become as nothing.

In short, we should expect that, if the faculty of speech were bestowed upon it, it would make just such a use of it as Moses narrates of the serpent in the garden of Eden. Its mind was purely and emphatically a "carnal mind," of a more shrewd description than that of any of the inferior creatures.

It was "very good;" but, when he undertook to converse upon things too high for him, to speak of what he had seen and heard, and to comment upon the law of the Lord, he lost himself in his dialogisms, and became the inventor of a lie.

Elpis Israel 1.3.