As God continues to confront Job with His greatness, Job makes his first feeble answer: “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee” (verse 4)? God then asks Job if he has the abilities and powers of God. God closes this chapter with a description of behemoth as the chief of the ways of God.
Job has gone through great trials without turning against God and cursing Him. However, he does complain of being unjustly persecuted and expects God to give him reasons for his suffering. In this chapter, God actually appears to Job.
Job may have been the first book of the Bible to have been written down. It is certainly one of the earliest. It deals with a universal theme: the problem of suffering. Is suffering always a punishment for sin? Can we know why we suffer? Will justice triumph in the end? How should we deal with suffering? Consider these questions and others that come to your mind as you study this passage.
The birth and naming of John the Baptist and the prophecy of Zecharias
Almost every scholar wants to change the meat offering to something else—although they cannot decide what else. The name is said to be confusing to Bible readers. The meat offering has no animal flesh. In fact, it is the only major offering in which no animals are killed. Why is it called the meat offering? Actually, there are very good reasons for calling it the meat offering.
The Biblical use of meat refers to solid food as opposed to drink (see Psalm 69:21; Daniel 1:10; Matthew 25:35; John 6:55; Romans 14:17). This is also the older use of the word in English. The first occurrences of meat in the Bible are found in Genesis 1:29-30 where God gives every “herb bearing seed” and the “fruit of a tree…for meat.” Obviously, the fine flour of the meat offering would fit into the meaning of the word.
But there is more. The meat offering has a very special typology that is revealed plainly by the cross references to the word meat as used by Christ. The meat offering is the offering of a “living sacrifice”—the kind Christians are supposed to give (Romans 12:1). It is also the kind of sacrifice Christ gave during His earthly ministry. Two verses especially teach this. In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” In John 6:27, He declares, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” These references to meat fit perfectly with the meaning of the meat offering.
Yet, this wonderful connection in scripture is destroyed in the modern versions of the Bible. And it is not simply a matter of them choosing another word. None that I have examined use the same word—any word—in all three passages
This lesson will deal with the different elements of the meat offering. It will then show how these characteristics apply to the life of Christ and the life of the believer.
The Biblical use of meat refers to solid food as opposed to drink (see Psalm 69:21; Daniel 1:10; Matthew 25:35; John 6:55; Romans 14:17). This is also the older use of the word in English. The first occurrences of meat in the Bible are found in Genesis 1:29-30 where God gives every “herb bearing seed” and the “fruit of a tree…for meat.” Obviously, the fine flour of the meat offering would fit into the meaning of the word.
But there is more. The meat offering has a very special typology that is revealed plainly by the cross references to the word meat as used by Christ. The meat offering is the offering of a “living sacrifice”—the kind Christians are supposed to give (Romans 12:1). It is also the kind of sacrifice Christ gave during His earthly ministry. Two verses especially teach this. In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” In John 6:27, He declares, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” These references to meat fit perfectly with the meaning of the meat offering.
Yet, this wonderful connection in scripture is destroyed in the modern versions of the Bible. And it is not simply a matter of them choosing another word. None that I have examined use the same word—any word—in all three passages
This lesson will deal with the different elements of the meat offering. It will then show how these characteristics apply to the life of Christ and the life of the believer.
