The Bible In Paintings: FRIENDS ACCUSE, JOB DEFENDS – BUT GOD DECIDES

[Hebrews 11:6]

The Bible In Paintings 2
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
1Peter 5:8-9

FRIENDS ACCUSE,
JOB DEFENDS –
BUT GOD DECIDES

J O B
CHAPTERS 3-42

I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions.

1
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job's Evil Dreams"

2
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job's Nightmare"

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:

3
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job Rebuked by His Friends"

4
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job’s Tormentors"

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

5
WILLIAM BLAKE
"The Wrath of Elihu"

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

6

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

7

“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 him. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.”

8
"Depicts Job's Discourse/Defence in Job 29:11-13"

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.

9
WILLIAM BLAKE
"The Lord Answering Job out of the Whirlwind"

“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

10
WILLIAM BLAKE
"When the Morning Stars Sang Together"

11
GERALD PEMBERTON HUTCHINSON
Source

“Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with his sword. The hills bring him their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby. Under the lotus plants he lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. The lotuses conceal him in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround him. When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth. Can anyone capture him by the eyes, or trap him and pierce his nose?

“Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he speak to you with gentle words? Will he make an agreement with you for you to take him as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again! Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering. No one is fierce enough to rouse him. WHO THEN IS ABLE TO STAND AGAINST ME? WHO HAS A CLAIM AGAINST ME THAT I MUST PAY? EVERYTHING UNDER HEAVEN BELONGS TO ME.”

12
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Behemoth and Leviathan"

13
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Behemoth and Leviathan"

14
SPENCER ALEXANDER McDANIEL
"God Showing the Leviathan to Job"

Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

15
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job's Sacrifice"

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

16
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Every Man Also Gave Him a Piece of Money"

The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years.

17
WILLIAM BLAKE
"The Restoration of Job"

18
"Job’s Restoration"

19
WILLIAM BLAKE
"The Restoration of Job"

20
JAMES TISSOT
"Job Joins His Family in Happiness"

21
WILLIAM BLAKE
"Job and His Daughters"

22
LAURENT DE LA HYRE
"Job Restored to Prosperity"

→ a n d... f i n a l l y ←

23
GUIDO RENI
"The Triumph of Job"

New International Version ©1984, Abrdgd, EMPHASES Added
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[Hebrews 11:6]

R E S O U R C E S
Read JOB 3-42 in full
Hear MAX McLEAN reading it
Hear a DRAMATIZATION of it
Read J-F-B's COMMENTARY
BIBLE TIMELINE

Click for 164 prior episodes in THIS series:
The Bible In Paintings 2
Click for 434 links in the FIRST series:
The Bible In Paintings 1


HOW GOD PROMPTED
THIS BIBLE-ART SERIES

"The Bible comes alive so much more with all the
illustrations, paintings, sculptures and stained glass windows.
Through them the stories are crystallized in our minds."


”Reading the Bible, we meditate, we think deeply about faith and beliefs, we gain insights and, thanks to all these great artists, these paintings become visual teachings and a powerful companion to the Bible.”

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J O B

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[Hebrews 11:6]

J O B
JOB – GOD PERMITS TRAGEDY AND CALAMITY
JOB SUFFERS AND SUFFERS AND SUFFERS
JOB STILL HAS FRIENDS
FRIENDS ACCUSE, JOB DEFENDS –
GOD DECIDES
SONG OF SONGS
SONG OF SONGS—ARTISTIC ANNOTATIONS

[who_would_fardels_bear]

It's odd that Job has three friends each of whom makes three speeches all of which say essentially the same thing: God is great. God is just. God would not punish or allow to be punished a godly man. Therefore Job must have committed a sin.

Even Job agrees that it would be bad PR for God to punish or allow to be punished a godly man.

With three different friends one would think there would be three different perspectives or at least they would make different points in their three speeches but that doesn't happen.

[Birdman]

‘I know that my redeemer lives…’ has arguably been offered as the most important verse in the Bible. There’s a lot to this, but at its base, it makes the necessary connection to the New Testament and Christ. Thanks for sharing the beauty of Job.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Elihu agrees with you about their ineffective arguments. And it’s not as if their discoursing was impromptu—they had a full week for composition.

[Birdman]

A direct foreshadowing of Christ. As you note, this is the first indication for the faithful that an innocent man can suffer. Until Job, if one suffered, one deserved it.

[Hebrews 11:6]

the beauty of Job

There is much that seems ugly in the story, but you have indeed nailed it: how beautiful is Job's faith! God was right all along about what He could fashion in that man.

[Made In The USA]

One of my favorites from the Bible, thanks for posting.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Glad to be of service.

[etabeta]

William Blake dedicated 22 watercolors to the subject of Job, all rich in color, vision and intellectual content. The more I study these paintings, the more I see how deeply spiritual his work is.

#22 by Laurent de la Hyre and thank you for the beautiful stained glass windows.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I’m unaware of any other Bible character or theme on which ol’ Billy Blake focused so acutely. Are you, Alba?

[etabeta]

I know that Blake illustrated the Book of Job 5 years before his death, commissioned by his patron. I don’t think he dedicated so many paintings to any other subject of the Bible.

[left that other site]

Good Morning, Dan. :-)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Ah, a patron. Should have known.

Jesus is my patron.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Mary-Lou! On my way to J....

[left that other site]

See You There....it’s about ART today, BTW.

[etabeta]

Mine too! Always felt a deep love for Jesus since I was a little girl. I still have the first illustrated book on the life of Jesus my parents gave me.

[null and void]

The behemoth sounds like the second most dangerous animal (after man) in Africa.

The hippo. Feeds on grass, lives in water hidden by reeds shaded by lotus, strong and tough an ‘blessed’ with a lethally bad attitude.

The Romans were well aware of the water horse (hippo-horse, potumus-same root as potable, as in drinkable water).

There surely must be yet to be discovered remains of hippos in the Jordan valley.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good Morning, Dan! Thanks very much for the Blake, Blake and more Blake! (And also for the solitary Tissot!)

"Dia shábháil ar fad anseo!"

"God save all here!"

[Hebrews 11:6]

Hippos are famous for upsetting canoes and delivering their occupants to leviathan.