Messiah In The Old Testament Episode 38
Job’s Character Tested
Welcome to Messiah in the Old Testament. In today’s episode we find ourselves in middle of a three parts series where we’re looking at Messianic Prophecies found in the book of Job. the so-called Job prophecies.
In our first episode, we revealed that there were so many of these Job prophecies, well over 20, that we are unable to present them all in a single episode. So, we decided to split them up into three episodes. Our first episode was entitled, “Job’s Character Revealed.” That was reviewing all of the Messianic Prophecies relating to the attributes of Job's character. Today's episode is entitled, “Job's Character Tested.” And we’re going to reveal all the Messianic Prophecies relating to Job's trials, tribulations, his testing and then his response to that testing. And then in our next episode, we’re going to present, “Job's Character Rewarded.” And that is going to include all the Messianic Prophecies that transpire after Job's time of testing. Now, in the first episode, we revealed to you that there worse seven attributes that we discovered in Job's character that were revealed in the first few verses of the first chapter of Job.
Those seven attributes are Messianic Prophecies because Job is acting as a type of Messiah, much the same as his ancestors Enoch and Noah were types before him. In fact, Noah and Job actually share some attributes together. The attributes point then to Messiah. Job's attributes as a type is pointing to attributes that we should expect to find when Messiah comes.
Now, I put together a table of those attributes. And I’m going to put it up right now. So, let's look at it together. You'll notice there are four columns in this table. The first column is the actual attribute of Job's character and consequently of Messiah's character. The second column is the Hebrew word or phrase from which those attributes were derived.
The third column is the meaning of that Hebrew word or phrase. And then finally, picture is the picture that each of those Hebrew words or phrases paints for us. So, let's go through these, pretty quickly.
1) Blameless: That comes from the Hebrew word MD;t (tam). And that’s from the root Mm;t (tamam). And that means complete, finished, sound or whole. The picture that this word paints is that of a house sitting on a hill. The house is built so complete, so finished, so sound, so whole that no windstorm that blows against it, no thing that comes against it will prevail because that house is just so strong and firm. Now, applying that to character, Job's character was so sound, so firm, so whole that no accusation and no blame that is thrown against Job's character will ever stick.
2) Upright: That comes from the Hebrew word rDvÎy (yashar) which is from the root rvy (yashar). And that means smooth, straight or right. The picture that that word paints is that of a path. A path in a deep wood. The path is straight. The path is smooth. The path is correct and goes directly from point A to point B. There’s is no meandering paths off into the wilderness. There’s no blind corners. It is a bright and straight path. And when applied to somebody's character, that means that their character is the same. It’s smooth. It’s straight. It’s right. There is no crookedness. There is no wickedness. It is straight. In fact, this word is used in our culture. Somebody is a straight shooter or somebody is straightlaced. The concept of being straight as being righteous.
3) Feared God: Job feared God. This comes from the Hebrew phrase MyIhølTa aéryˆw (viyray’ Elohim). And the word aéryˆw (viyray’) is from the root ary (yara’). And ary (yara’) means fear, reverence or awe. And in this specific incident it’s Elohim. So, it's fear, reverence and awe of Elohim. It's a picture of a subject that is bowing down before their king in absolute awe, adoration. It is a picture of somebody who so adores someone else they did they just naturally bow in their presence
and give them deference. I think it implies an affection. I think it implies an intimacy.
4) Shunned Evil: That comes from the Hebrew phrase orEm rDsw (vesar mayra‘). rDsw (vesar), the root is rws ( soor). And that means to turn away or turn aside. It is the same word that was used when Moses saw the burning bush in the desert and he turned aside to look and see what it was. That was the word that was used where he said let us turn aside and see. So, it means to turn away or turn aside. The second word orEm (mayra‘) is a compound word. It's got the prefixed Nm (min) which means from. And then or (ra‘), it’s from the root oor (ra‘a‘). And that means to be evil or bad. So it is turning away from evil or badness. It’s the picture of a young man who is standing in front of an establishment. Inside that establishment there is debauchery and sin. And if he goes in, it’s going to turn him astray. It could be a house of ill repute. It could be a swingers club, who knows what the evil is that lies inside. But this young man, instead of going in to this place, he turns away. And he walks away from that place of ill repute. In fact, I think the word goes further than that. Not only does he turn away, he avoids that establishment. He doesn't even go on the same side of the street or even the same street that the establishment is on. And maybe even avoids the side of town where the establishment is located. He shuns that evil. He turns away and rebukes that evil.
5) Greatest: That comes from the Hebrew word lwødÎ…g (gadol). Job was the greatest amongst all the peoples of the East. lwødÎ…g (gadol) means great in magnitude and extent. And that certainly described Job. But it also is going to describe Messiah. So, it’s influence over your region influence even over the world. It is the picture of a superstar. At the time of our recording, one of the greatest superstars is Taylor Swift who’s having concerts all over the world. She has great influence in the world today. That is lwødÎ…g (gadol).
6) Regular Custom: That comes from the Hebrew phrase MyImÎ¥yAh_lD;k bwø¥yIa hRcSoÅy hDkD;k (kakhah ya’aseh ‘iyov kal hayamim). And that the phrase literally means Thus made Job all the days. It's an idiom that means that it was a daily custom or was a regular custom. That's why we translated - regular custom. The meaning is that Job loved his kids so much that he made it his regular custom to perform sacrifices on their behalf. So, in case they sinned, they might be justified before God. It is the picture of a loving father protecting his children even as they are adults. It is a selfless person, someone who's committed, faithful and dependable.
7) Mediator: That comes from the Hebrew for phrase twølOo hDlToRhw (vehe’elah ‘olot). And that is from, both of those words actually are from the root hlo (’elah). And that means to climb, ascend, go up. And it's the sacrifices where the smoke is going up and rising. So, it's a picture of the priest sacrificing and the smoke goes up before Elohim as a pleasing aroma. Like we saw, back when Noah sacrificed after the flood. So, each of these pictures that we painted, apply to Job for sure, but they also apply to Messiah's character.
Blameless: So, when Messiah comes, his character is going to be so finished, sound, whole, complete that no accusation, no blame that is assigned him will stand. People after he is accused are going to say, “Truly this was a righteous man.”
Upright: The picture of the smooth path. Messiah is going to be a straight shooter. He’s going to be straightlaced. He is not going to be full of deception or blind corners. He is going to be a smooth and straight path.
Feared God: For sure Job feared God. And also Messiah when he comes, he is also going to fear God. And as we said, this implies some form of intimacy. Messiah is going to be in fear, adoration, awe. And he's going to have intimate relationship with Elohim.
Shunned Evil: Messiah when he comes he is going to turn away from evil. He is going to rebuke evil. He is not going to embrace any form of cheating, deception or sin.
Greatest: Job was the greatest amongst the peoples of the East. Messiah is going to be the greatest. Not only in his region, but also his influence will extend throughout the entire world. Messiah will be the greatest of all time.
Regular Custom: Just like Job made his regular custom to put his needs above his own. Not only his time, but his money providing all those sacrifices. So it will be Messiah when he comes. He is going to put the needs of his children, or his followers, his worshipers, he is going to put their needs above his own.
Mediator: Job was the mediator between his children and Elohim and so will be Messiah when he comes. He is going to be the mediator between God and men. Now, the reason we spent all this time reviewing those seven attributes applying them to Messiah, is because I want you to keep those seven pictures in your brain. So, as we go through Job's trials and tribulations you will understand why Job is reacting the way he is. He certainly reacts differently than your average human being if they were placed in the same circumstances. And it's these seven attributes that are driving that.
Job's trials begin in Job 1:6-12. So, let's read that together:
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Now, I would like to pause there and talk about Angels. The picture here, when I imagine this scene, I see Elohim sitting on his throne. Sitting on his brilliant, blue sapphire throne which is located on the Mountain of God surrounded by these fiery stones. His throne is surrounded by a green, emerald rainbow. And standing in front of him there is this giant sea of glass. And standing on the sea of glass are myriads and myriads and myriads of angels who have assembled themselves before Elohim.
Now, when angels assemble before Elohim, I don't think they're there to get the latest news or latest gossip. They’re there to worship. They gather together to present themselves and they worship. And I can imagine this chorus going up, “Hosanna, Hosanna to God Almighty who sits on his throne! Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!” I think there is a cacophony of praise. vdq, vdq, vdq (qadosh, qadosh, qadosh). And this scene is a scene of
worship and jubilance. And not a scene of sadness or moroseness. It’s not a scene where these angels are being dragged in, being forced to present themselves before Elohim. There are those that believe that this is [a scene of] fallen angels that are drug in before Elohim.
They base this on the fact that the phrase translated as Angels is actually MyIhølTaDh yEnV;b (benay haElohim) which is Sons of God. It is the same phrase that was used to describe the Sons of God who came down to take the daughters of men in Genesis chapter 6:2. Those are considered fallen angels. So, their theory is that these are fallen angels that are being brought before forced to present themselves before God. It is like God is the jail keeper or God is the parole officer. And they all have to make an accounting and present themselves. And that would explain why Satan is there and why God asked Satan the questions that he did.
Now, there's another word for angels and it’s a word that is used throughout the Tanakh. And it’s the word MyIkDaVlA;m (malakim).
MyIkDaVlA;m (malakim) is it literally means messengers. And these are angels that are sent for a specific purpose to do something, to convey a message. For example, when Abraham met the three strangers while they're on their way to bring judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and
then Abraham negotiates with them, those were MyIkDaVlA;m (malakim).
And then also in Genesis, where Jacob sees the ladder stretching between heaven and earth, and he sees the angels going up and down, coming to and going from the earth, those are MyIkDaVlA;m (malakim). So I think that the MyIhølTaDh yEnV;b (benay haElohim) and the MyIkDaVlA;m (malakim) are the same angels. It’s just when they're gathered to worship before God they are the Sons of God. And when they're sent for a job on the earth they’re the Messengers of God. So, let us continue reading:
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
Sounds familiar, right? It's on the list.
It is the first four items on our list. I think that those first four items are actually the core values, the core attributes of Job's life upon which all the rest of the attributes can be considered based. For example, Job was greatest amongst all the peoples of the East. It was because he was blameless and upright, feared God and shunned evil. So these are the pillar, the base upon which Job built his life. And I think it’s a good lesson or message for you and I. We should also build our lives on those same four pillars. If we do, then those pillars do not shift. Those pillars
will allow us to shun evil, to turn away from sin. That will allow us to withstand all the tempest, all the storms of life. Any accusation or blame thrown against us is just going to bounce off. If we are able to establish that platform, that base that we can build our life on, then we will be able to succeed in everything. Now, let’s continue reading:
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
So, I think these two things that Satan is pointing out are a direct result of the attributes of those four things that Elohim is pointing out. Because Job was upright and blameless, feared God and shunned evil. God was providing him these benefits. So, let's hear what Satan has to say:
But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
So, Elohim was bragging to Satan, “Look at my man Job! My man Job is upright, blameless, fears God, shuns evil.” Satan counters and said, “Yo, the only reason he is so upright, blameless, shuns God, fears evil is because you got him so tightly wrapped up. You’ve got this hedge of protection around him that is so tight, it’s smothering him, He's like a slave. He is like a servant. He has no choice. And besides that everything he puts his hands to he succeeds. So, why would he ever even want to make another choice?” So, these are actually rationalizations. And there are accusations. I mean, Satan is accusing Elohim of doing these two things which are influencing Job’s choices
and Job's lifestyle. So, let's look at those two accusations because they have Messianic Implications.
1) Hedge of Protection: Elohim put a hedge of protection around Job. The word translated hedge is the Hebrew word D;tVkAc (sakhta) and it comes from the root JK…wc (sook). And it means to the block or fence in with thorn hedges. It's the same word is used in Hosea 2:6 which says:
Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.”
This hedge of protection was a literal wall of thorns that you would use to protect stuff that's inside the wall of protection. The thorns would keep the predators on the outside, would keep Satan outside. And it would keep your household, your family, all your possessions, your servants, everything inside would be protected. Is the picture of the sheep pen. The sheep would be inside. The wolves, the predators would be outside. And the hedge would keep the sheep from straying out and
would keep the predators from getting in. And there was only one way in or out and that was through the gate.
This has Messianic Implications because just like Job had a hedge of protection around him, so it’s going to be with Messiah. He is also going to have the same hedge of protection. And then at one point just as Job's hedge is going to be taken away, so it is going to be with Messiah. He will have his hedge taken away.
2) Blessed the Work of His Hands: Elohim was blessing the work of Job's hands. The word translated blessed is tVkårE;b (bayrakhta) from the root KårD;b (barakh). We know this word it's blessed. It’s Barukh ata Adonai from all the prayers. It means to kneel down, to bend your knee or bless.
It is the picture of the King sitting on his throne and a subject comes up to him. The subject bends his knee, he bows down before the king. And then the king takes his scepter and the king gives him a title, the king gives him lands, the king gives him some sort of benefit. And that is that the picture of blessing. We receive our blessing when we are on our knees in humility before our king.
Just like Job had this blessing, just like Elohim was handing out all these titles and privileges [like] greatest amongst all the people of the earth, the same way Job received this blessing so that everything he put his hands to prospered, so it is going to be with Messiah. Everything Messiah does is going to prosper. His ministry is going to prosper. Everything Messiah does will prosper. And then at some point will be taken away just like Job. So, now we have two more Messianic Prophecies:
1) Job as a type of Messiah received a hedge of protection that lasted until his time of testing. So it will be with Messiah. He will be surrounded by a hedge of protection until his time of testing comes.
2) Job as a type of Messiah lived under the blessing of Elohim and everything he put his hands to prospered. So it will be with Messiah. Elohim will bless his life and ministry so that everything he puts his hands to will prosper.
Now, Satan thought that the reason Job was being such a righteous and good person was because Elohim had him wrapped up with the protection and was blessing his hands. He did not realize it was exactly the opposite. That the reason that Job was being blessed and protected was because he was so righteous and upright and blameless and because he was obedient to Elohim. So, Satan has been given permission to strip all of this away. He's convinced that Job is going to curse God to his very face. And now Satan is going to enact it.
This is found in Job 1:13-22:
One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
Just imagine if you were in Job's place all the emotions that are suddenly flooding you. You’ve just gotten four servants who came and gave you horrible, horrible news. It’s like boom, boom, boom, rapid fire. Job found out that his animals have all been killed or taken away, stolen by raiders. He found that his servants have all been put to the sword or decimated. All you have are these four that returned and whatever servants were in his household. He found that his children were all dead underneath his eldest son’s collapsed house. He probably felt emotions like shock, horror, grief, anger. I'm sure he was completely devastated. Now, he would have every reason to stand there, shake his fist at God, blame God, “Why God did you do this? Why did you take my children? Why did you take away all my stuff ?” He had every reason to blame God for what had just happened, especially when the fire from God came and killed all of his sheep. He would be within his right according to most people's thinking to blame God and tell God exactly how unfair and how unjust all of this was. I think if it was me, I would have felt totally helpless. I mean, think of it, Job was this mighty man, the greatest among all the peoples of East. He had all his money, all this resource. He had servants. He had everything then suddenly it is all taken away. I would feel absolutely helpless and powerless as well as shock or grief and all that other stuff. So, let's look at Job's response. It is probably different than what you and I would've said or done under the same situation:
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
The first I want to point out, if you blame God, if you shake your fist at God, if you say Why? Why? Why? did you do this to me God, you are blaming God. You’re charging God with wrongdoing. You are sinning.
Job's response: he got up and tore his clothes. This is a common response to grief. It’s something that is carried into modern Jewish culture. When a loved one dies, you tear your clothes and you sit Shiva for seven days or beyond, the 30 day sheloshim. You wear torn clothes. You don't comb or cut your hair. You are unkempt. And this is an outward sign of mourning, an outward sign of grief. So, Job tore his clothes in grief and then he shaved his head. Now, this is opposite what we do today, but in the Tanakh is a common thing to see an expression of grief, it is shaving your head. There are several prophets that actually mention it.
The most prominent example I think is Micah 1:6 where he says:
“Shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.”
So, I think Job shaving his hair was a way of humbling himself.
And then after that he fell in worship to God. How many of us, in the face of this amount of adversity, our default would be to fall on our face and worship God. This action has Messianic Implication. When Job was faced with extreme loss, extreme grief, extreme emotion his response was to humble himself, express his grief, but then to fall down and worship God. This is very much a character trait that was revealed through adversity. So Messiah is going to have that same character when he is exposed to adversities. He is going to respond with humility and worship of Elohim. So, in all this Job did not charge God with wrongdoing, despite the temptation. So, it is a good lesson for us today if we are faced with adversity. Resist the temptation to shake your hand at God. Resist your temptation to blame God. Resist your temptation to say, “Why? Why? Why O God did you do this to me. Instead do like Job did say:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
We need to find ourselves praising God in response to adversity, not cursing God. So, this also has Messianic Implications. Job as a type of Messiah was stripped of all his possessions, his children, his servants
and yet he did not blame Elohim. So, it will be with Messiah. He will also be stripped of everything losing his possessions, children or disciples, and position yet he will accept it is the will of Elohim and not sin. So, now we have three more prophecies we can add to our list:
3) Job as a type of Messiah faced trials from Satan. Messiah will also face trials from Satan.
4) Job as a type of Messiah responded to extreme loss by worshipping God. So it will be with Messiah. He also will respond to loss and grief by worshipping God.
5) Job as a type of Messiah was stripped of possessions, children and status yet did not blame or accuse Elohim. He did not sin. Messiah will also be stripped of his possessions, children (followers) and position. Messiah will not blame Elohim and he will not sin.
So, Job passed this first test with flying colors, but there's more to come.
A second test is coming and this is found in Job 2:1-10:
On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” (same answer)
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. (and now he adds) And he still maintains his integrity,
A very important point. Despite all of the trials and tribulations Job has maintained his integrity.
Though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
So, Satan is still convinced that if he put enough pressure on this boy that he's going to fold and Job is just going to curse God and die.
The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
Here it comes, his wife comes to Job, sitting in the ash pile, scraping this nasty stuff off of his sores, putting the ashes on his sores.
His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? (it’s almost a mocking) Curse God and die!”
So his wife is saying, “It’s over, just give up, curse God and die.”
He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
So, think of it, we have this mighty man, this greatest among the peoples of the East, this man who probably wears expensive clothing, every need he's waited on. He’s got servants. He’s got this beautiful, huge family. And they spend their lives in luxury, feasting at one another's house. He's got all these animals and wealth and status and suddenly he is now at the bottom of the bottom.
He has been humbled. He has been lowered to the point where he is sitting on the ground. No fancy robes, no fancy meals, no servants waiting on him, he is sitting in the ash pile scraping his sores. How the mighty had fallen! And just picture yourself in that same situation. Now we know that Job accepted his troubles. We know that Job did not curse God, he did not die. We know that Job was not wanting to do any of these things that Satan was pushing him do, his wife was pushing him
to do. Instead, he sat in the ash pile. Now, ashes are a symbol of repentance.
In fact, in Job 42:6 he later says:
“Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
So, he himself said that when he was sitting in that ash pile scraping his sores he had repented in dust and ashes. It was a form of repentance, humility and repentance. There are other examples.
For example, Mordechai, in the book of Esther, on hearing the King’s edict to kill the Jews, he was in such angst and grief that he went out in the city dressed in sackcloth and ashes. A symbol of his humility and a symbol of his repentance. Or, Daniel 9:
“ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”
It was a form of repentance, a form of bringing himself in humility before God to ask him for something in prayers and petitions. So, Job suffered severe pain. I can imagine these sores would've been
absolutely awful. He was isolated, sitting in the pit, which usually the ashpit was away from the house. An ashpit was not inside the house, so he would have been outside isolated from all the servants and luxuries of his house. But even in this pain and even in this isolation, he expressed humility and he expressed repentance. Now, we see this happening in our world today. I could cite numerous stories of men who were super wealthy, had all kinds of influence on Wall Street and then a crash happens, for example, the stock market crash that led into the depression back at the end of the 1920s, there were men leaping out of windows of tall buildings in an angst because they had nothing to live for because all of their empire, their money, their fortunes, their influence was all taken away. And we’ll see this happen where they go to a hotel room and put a bullet through their head or they overdose with drugs or they jump in front of a commuter train or they drive their cars head-on into traffic to kill themselves. This is, I think, what was going through Job's head to some extent. Certainly it was going through his wife head. His wife said, “Dude just put a bullet your head and end it. Just curse God and die.” So, she was vocalizing, I think, what Job was feeling. But did Job curse God and die? Absolutely not! So this has Messianic Implications. First of all, Job, faced with this horrible suffering and isolation, he refused to curse God. He instead repented and humbled himself. So, it will be with Messiah. And just as Job refused to curse God and die, his response even in this low, low place, he did not respond the way his wife wanted him to. And he did not curse God, instead he stayed fast. He maintained his integrity. And so it will be with Messiah. When he is afflicted with torture, punishment and his health and strength are taken from him, he will end up alone and abandoned facing the temptation to curse God and die. He will not curse God and he will not sin. So, now we have two more Messianic Prophecies, we’re almost done:
6) Job as a type of Messiah responded to severe pain and isolation by repentance and humility. So it will be with Messiah. He also will respond to pain and isolation with repentance and humility
7) Job as a type of Messiah was afflicted and tortured to the point of desperation. He was tempted to curse God and die. He did not. Messiah will also be afflicted and tortured to the point of desperation. Messiah will not curse Elohim. Messiah will not sin.
Our final Messianic Prophecy has to do with Job's integrity. Elohim mentioned it when he said, “Job still maintains his integrity.” His wife mentioned it, “Are you still hanging on your integrity? Let it go. Curse God and die.” Job refused to let go of his integrity. He decided to maintain his integrity to the very end. Even if the end was his death, he would maintain his integrity to the very end.
Now, the word integrity comes from the same root as blameless Mm;t (tamam) and that of course means whole, soundness, completeness. And the word integrity does mean that.
For example, in our language, in English we’ll say, for example, the hurricane damaged the levy so the integrity of the levee and the future is in question. Or the earthquake weakened the dam in the integrity of the
dam is in question. The engineers are going to come in and determine whether it needs to be repaired or replaced. Integrity refers to the soundness or wholeness. So, in terms of a human, integrity refers to such things as virtue and honor and trust. I think it’s a complete picture. A man of integrity, it’s not just one little subset, one little attribute. It’s the whole package. So, our final prophecy relating to Job's testing:
8) Job as a type of Messiah was a man of integrity and he held on to it to the very end. So it will be with Messiah. He also will be a man of integrity and he will hold on to it to the very end.
So, now we have found eight Messianic Prophecies in our second episode in the series. Our third episode is coming up. And for me, this is the most exciting episode. It’s got the best stories. It’s got the most interesting stuff. We’re going to deal with the concept of death, what the concept of death was in Job's culture and the cultures that surrounded him. We’re going to see how Job viewed, after the fact, the suffering that he endured and we’re going to draw Messianic Prophecies from that. So, it is a very exciting episode. So, I invite you to join me next time when we continue to look at prophecies found in the Tanakh and specifically prophecies found in the book of Job.
Thank you for watching our show today. We hope that you enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Now, after
watching this episode you might be saying to yourself, “Who is this Messiah that Dr. Smith is talking about?
Is he talking about the Christian Messiah? Is he talking about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary. And then lived a blameless and holy life on the earth, And then was tortured and crucified. And after he died he then was resurrected from the dead after three days. Then after people witnessed this, he was then taken up bodily by Elohim into heaven from the Mount of Olives.
Or is Dr. Smith talking about the Muslim prophet Isa. Isa Ibn Maryam, the messenger, who was sent by Allah to bring a message to the people. The Quran says he that lived a holy and blameless life, was born of the virgin Mary. He fulfilled all the Jewish prophecies in exact accordance. But one difference, instead of being crucified, he then was taken up by Allah into heaven before the Romans laid hands on him. And he awaits
there now in the fourth heaven where at the end of days at the day of judgment he will be revealed to all.
Or is Dr. Smith talking about the Jewish Messiah? The Messiah who has not yet been revealed, that the entire Jewish world is waiting for his revelation. Now, the beautiful thing is that you can hold to any of these beliefs. And we can all still learn together about Messiah. We can learn about our Christian Messiah. We can learn about our Jewish Messiah. We can learn about our Muslim prophet Isa who will be revealed. It doesn’t matter what you believe. You can even be an atheist or agnostic and still learn from this program about Messiah. Now, I have to admit I am a Christian so I approach things, obviously, from a Christian point of view. And I promise you, as we reveal these prophecies, which I believe have all been fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Or will be fulfilled when he comes back, returning in the clouds in the same way he was taken up. I believe that all of this is true, but I promise you I will do my very best to present these prophecies from a neutral point of view. And try to keep my Christian bias to a minimum. Obviously, it will pop up from time to time but I will try to stay only in the Tanakh and try not to get into the New Testament very often. Now, if you want more information about Messiah, we have resources for you.
We have a website which is findingmessiah.org. Now, on that website you are going to find several resources. You will find links to all the videos, all the episodes that we have created so far. You will find links to download the transcripts of any of these episodes. And then you will find a section where you can get more information about Messiah through frequently asked questions. And then there is a section for donation. If you want to come alongside our ministry at Finding Messiah.
Now, there’s going to come a time in this series where you are going to be confronted with the question: What are you going to do with Messiah? Who do you believe Messiah is? Which of these Messiahs do you believe Dr. Smith is talking about? And Messiah will become real to you if you look at all the information presented and come to your conclusions. So, join us as we continue our journey through the Old Testament Scriptures looking for all the Messianic Prophecies. And join us next time as we reveal those to you.