Meditations From Job

[Kokavkrystallos]

As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. - Job 28:5-6

We see several things mentioned here and I want to draw our attention to each. Now I know Job is describing physical and natural things here, but we shall draw spiritual things from it as well.

1. 1. Bread, that cometh out of the earth. The Bread of Life, Jesus Christ was born of a woman, taken out of a man, formed from the earth. "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) We are told to pray this way: "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11) Luke says, "Give us day by day our daily bread." (Luke 11:3) That would be day by day physical nourishment, and our spiritual food, the bread of life.
   2. Fire is under it. Our God is a consuming fire. (Heb. 12:29) When Ezekiel saw the glory of the LORD, "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire." (Ezekiel 1:4) Daniel saw, "the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire." (Daniel 7:9) John the Baptist proclaimed of Jesus, "he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11)
   3. The stones: We are living stones, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5) "And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land." (Zechariah 9:16)
   4. Sapphires: Sapphire is the very essence of God's throne. "And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it." (Ezekiel 1:26) "Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne." (Ezekiel 10:1) Even the Book of Enoch 18:8 states, regarding 7 mountains seen in a vision, "But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire"
   5. Finally, Gold, the dust of gold - glittery gold: the finest of metals, and that which we are admonished to build up on our foundation with. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;" (1 Corinthians 3:11-12) Also, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalm 19:9-10)
   
   Now Job 26:7 says, "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." How could they know the earth was "hung" in space on nothing? God revealed it, or else someone was taken up in vision to behold it. One or the other, unless the ancients flew. Some believe they did, but we're not going down that rabbit hole.
   Job 27:9 says , "He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it." His throne: the throne of God, the great Sapphire throne. As we already read, Ezekiel saw it, it is mentioned in the Book of Enoch (I have no idea if that part of Enoch is inspired, or it was borrowed from Ezekiel. We do know Enoch 1:9 is inspired because Jude quotes it, and Hebrews 4:13 quotes Enoch 9:5)
   Moses may have seen it, as it is written in Exodus 24:9-10, "Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness."
   Isaiah, Daniel, and John might have seen it, though they do not describe Sapphire, they do mention " In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1), "And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." (Revelation 4:2-3)
   We'll look at a couple more verses here and be finished: Job 26:11, "The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof." We do not know what exactly these are, these pillars - they are probably symbolic, or perhaps describe gravity, or some other cosmic forces out there in the universe.
   Job 26:13 says, "By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent." Yea, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." (Psalm 33:6) In both verse the word Hebrew word "ruach" is used, - for "spirit" in Job, and for "breath" in Psalms, for Ruach HaQodesh is the Holy Spirit, and the Ruach of God, the Spirit is what was hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2,
   These are very powerful things to meditate on, for we are told, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)