The Bible In Paintings, #178: FRIENDS ACCUSE, JOB DEFENDS

c. 2,200 BC | by the Father, Son & Holy Spirit

[Hebrews 11:6]

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THE BOOK OF JOB

Part 1	GOD'S MAIN MAN, JOB
Part 2	JOB SUFFERS
Part 3	MRS. JOB MOCKS HIM
Part 4	JOB STILL HAS "FRIENDS"
Part 5	FRIENDS ACCUSE, JOB DEFENDS
Part 6	GOD INTERVENES, QUIZZES JOB

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FRIENDS

ACCUSE,

JOB

DEFENDS

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J O B
3 – 3 7
New International Version, emphases added
Abrdgd: the complete text is in your Bible


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C L I C K :

To read JOB 3-37 in full
To hear MAX McLEAN reading it
To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it
HIGHLY recommended by Maudeen!
To see an ANIMATION of Job

2 , 2 0 0
B. C.

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CHAPTER 3

1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said:
3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.

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1 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by FRANK CAPRA, "It's a Wonderful Life"
"Alright, George, you've got your wish:
You were never born!"

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11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?

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2 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source

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24 For sighing has become my daily food;
my groans pour out like water.
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded has happened to me.
26 I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

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CHAPTER 6

1 Then Job replied:
2 “If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!
3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
no wonder my words have been impetuous.
4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God’s terrors are marshaled against me.
5 Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,

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or an ox bellow when it has fodder?

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CHAPTER 7

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

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5 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by GUSTAVE DORÉ
"Job and His Friends"

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13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,
14 even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,
rather than this body of mine.
16 I despise my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

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6 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job's Evil Dreams"

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6A mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job's Nightmare"

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17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
that you give them so much attention,
18 that you examine them every morning
and test them every moment?
19 Will you never look away from me,
or let me alone even for an instant?

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CHAPTERS 4-5, 8, 11, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

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8 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job Rebuked by His Friends"

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CHAPTER 9

1 Then Job replied:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
3 Though they wished to dispute with him,
they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it

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9mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
How the original supercontinent, "Pangaea," has broken up due to plate tectonics over the past 175 million years into our present continents.

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…and overturns them in his anger.

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Mt. St. Helens

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6 He shakes the earth from its place

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…and makes its pillars tremble.

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7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;

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he seals off the light of the stars.

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8 He alone stretches out the heavens

THE BIBLE'S OLDEST SCIENTIFICALLY TESTABLE PREDICTION
In the early 20th Century, Lemaître and Hubble demonstrated that the universe has expanded constantly since its creation (since measured quite precisely at 13.77 billion years ago). This discovery confirmed the Bible's oft-repeated—a dozen times—assertion that God stretches the heavens. It thereby overthrew the prevailing scientific consensus that the universe has always existed and is static. God is proved to be correct, once again.

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and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,

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14 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source

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the Pleiades

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and the constellations of the south.
10 HE PERFORMS WONDERS THAT CANNOT BE FATHOMED,
MIRACLES THAT CANNOT BE COUNTED.

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32 “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,

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someone to bring us together,
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

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CHAPTER 12

23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.

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24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.

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18 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by WILLIAM BLAKE, 1805
"Nebuchadnezzar"

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INSERT IMAGES OF CURRENT LEADERS HERE

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CHAPTER 16

19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as one pleads for a friend.

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CHAPTER 19

“Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!

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25 I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!"

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22 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by SAMUEL MEDLEY & JOHN HATTON
" I Know that My Redeemer Lives "

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CHAPTER 29

11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me commended me,
12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
13 The one who was dying blessed me;
I made the widow’s heart sing.
14 I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims from their teeth.

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24 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
at St Michael's church, Aigburth, Liverpool, England
"Depicts Job's Discourse/Defence in Job 29:11-13"
"Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing."

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CHAPTER 32

1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

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25 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Image Source
by WILLIAM BLAKE
"The Wrath of Elihu"

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→ a n d…. f i n a l l y ←

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by EGBERT MODDERMAN
"Job and Elihu"

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎
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Preview of
COMING
ATTRACTIONS

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,
G O D ' S
Q U I Z

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R E S O U R C E S

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Links to three masters who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours

JAMES TISSOT
180 watercolors depicting Bible scenes

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Links to two Bibles with comprehensive illustrations:

The Art Bible (1896)

The Maciejowski-Morgan Bible (c.1245)

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This series keeps moving from one Bible passage to another,
so here is a fascinating and enjoyable link to assist in following along:
BIBLE TIMELINE

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Here are links to the
PREVIOUS 177 POSTS IN THIS SERIES
with descriptive titles to assist you in finding those which interest you

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Finally, what God did to initiate The Bible In Paintings:
HOW GOD STARTED THIS SERIES
BY SHOWING ME JUST ONE PICTURE

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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NOTES ON MY SELECTION CRITERIA

A r t Q u a l i t y

The Bible and its Author are my focus, not the art: this is The Bible in Paintings, not "Great Paintings" nor even "Good Paintings." So, works need not be masterpieces to qualify for inclusion here—they don't need to be housed at the Louvre nor auctioned by Sotheby's. They only need to illustrate successfully some aspect of the Biblical text or, frankly, just tickle my fancy, which I'm always asking the Holy Spirit to guide.

Often, artists misrepresent the Scripture, but unless the error is material, licentious or heretical I usually include the artwork, trusting that the Spirit is perfectly capable of defending Himself. So, with such forgiving filters, it means that you're seeing practically everything I'm finding.

T e x t S e q u e n c i n g

The Protestant Canon does not (for several reasons) follow a strictly chronological sequence. There are many examples where, for God's good purposes, stories are told out-of-order. Nevertheless, for the sake of simplicity, clarity, and my sanity, I have chosen to proceed linearly and methodically from Genesis onward, illustrating each Bible passage as we come to it. Where two passages cover the same incident I omit the second telling, excepting the four Gospels which I will treat synoptically. Now, onward!

P a c i n g

The pace here may seem appallingly snail-like to those eager to see their favorite events illustrated. My commission is to search for art on each Bible passage in sequence: if I find enough, then it becomes the next installment, even if undramatic (but where there is little or no art, that Bible passage goes untold here).

Then, there is the human element: this is not actually a daily series, because I can only research, compose, edit and post five or six of these installments weekly. And because I only get to do this series once, I'm taking my time, chiefly by posting everything; if I find lots of art, I don't cherry-pick some and discard the rest. Rather, I line up all of them and then sort them into manageable bunches, often resulting in multiple days' episodes of the same story. Obviously, I like being thorough. Were you in a big hurry?

The Bible is a thick book, as you know; but we'll get there eventually, Lord willing—this is His project, after all. And always remember:
love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control is a fruit of the Spirit!

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Art is merely the Toy Department of Bible study,
so I'm just having fun here—I hope you are, too!
Thank you for your understanding.

Hebrews 11:6
Dan Lewis
DodgerDan
'55 '59 '63 '65 '81 '88 '20

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either reply here or FRmail me.

No contracts, startup charges or monthly fees;
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[Hebrews 11:6]

At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" to give God glory, as many of these artists have done, and for my own amusement and learning; and I thought others might enjoy it and be blessed by it, too. My plan is to proceed methodically from left-to-right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts, and increase our faith in He who is behind it all. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is being filmed right now. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year's viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: "Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast." Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I've ever spent (I don't recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 43 years ago).

[Hebrews 11:6]

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P r e s e n t e d . . F o r . . Y o u r

CONSIDERATION

ENJOYMENT

& BLESSING

[left that other site]

Good Morning, Dan!

[Hebrews 11:6]

Say hey, Mary-Lou!

[etabeta]

Ah, how much better if Job’s friends had just given him support, love and friendship and kept silent. Their later behavior in a way mirrors to us our own guilt in judging, speaking without knowledge, untruths, assumptions and yes, even spiritual arrogance.

And Elihu with his empathy and sincerity, his words of correction spoken with love. A great chapter.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Very well and truly stated, Alba. Your willingness to include yourself in your indictment of our guilt stands as our excellent example for doing the same.

The Holy Spirit has made this an area of intensive attention for me. Forty years ago an assistant pastor held a class on Ephesians 4:29:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Love your brother! Taking that seriously and applying it consistently has been at the forefront for me in [nearly every] conversation since. Accepted and memorized and meditated on, it becomes a powerful preventative and God's Rx for the woeful malady you describe. But it only works before the mouth opens, by asking the Spirit to help formulating one's speech in accordance with His will, not ours.

[spankalib]

Orion is beautiful, especially the Hubble photos. I remember reading somewhere that that is where heaven is, in past the nebula (which is the brightness where the 'scabbard' of the figure appears).

I also remember reading about several 'mysteries' that append to the nebula. One, is that there is a 'blank spot' through which nothing, no stars, galaxies, gas clouds, etc. can be seen.

Not that it really matters, where it is, just that it's good for my imagining :)

[Hebrews 11:6]

I don’t expect that I will be requesting your reading list.

[spankalib]

LOL!

[Hebrews 11:6]

By the way, tomorrow we’ll return to Orion in an important (and unfanciful) way.