 Yeah, I think they're all set Okay, so last class we did Esther and with Esther we finished all the historical books Okay, so now we would be moving into the Poetic books which are also called the wisdom books and there are five of them in number So we will very briefly look at an introduction of these five poetic books Different people look at these five books in different ways But I liked one scholar who said that in these five books we see People man reaching out to God if you look in the rest of the Old Testament It is God reaching out to man either with instructions or with words of comfort or words of judgment It's God reaching out to man in the rest of the Old Testament But in these five books of the of the these poetic books We see humans reaching out to God in different Context in different circumstances and I think this makes sense Because in the book of Job we see a human reaching out to God in his pain and suffering He does not know why he is going through what he is and he is hoping for relief from God He's also hoping that God would give him answers as to why he is facing all of these Situations in the book of Psalms in the same way we see the Psalmists the writers reaching out to God with different emotions They pour out their heart and praise and worship, but not just that they also pour out their heart in anger in doubt in No, you know with it with a pain and suffering you see them reaching out to God with all of their emotions and In Proverbs we see a Writer reaching out to God in the sense He's trying to understand what is the meaning of this life Why am I alive and what am I achieving? You know by all the hard work that I'm doing under the Sun So this too is a kind of reaching out then we have What did I say Proverbs did I say Ecclesiastes? So sorry, I meant Ecclesiastes Book of Proverbs is people reaching out to God asking for wisdom because they want to know how to handle the different situations of life so and the song of Solomon For the Israelite people They saw this book as an expression of the Israelite nation reaching out to God because they considered God their Lord and their husband why because Yeah In the time of the original Passover in Egypt when God passed over The doors which had been you know covered with blood He entered into a blood covenant with them Promising to shield them protect them and be their Lord be their husband And you're you find in many of the prophetic books You actually see this picture where God describes himself as the husband of the nation of Israel So which is why every feast Passover feast the people would read out the song of Solomon They would stand in the temple and read for the entire book as a reminder to them that now they are in a covenant relationship with Yahweh and he is he has chosen to be related to them and take responsibility For them so in all of these five poetic books We see humans reaching out to God in different contexts and they are dealing with some very basic human experiences They are dealing over there with suffering and pain There are acts of worship Acts of expressing anger you have people reaching out seeking wisdom guidance You have people seeking out for the very meaning of life and of course also We have expressions of love in the song of Solomon. So these are all very basic human Experiences that are being dealt with in these five poetic books Now there are basically three kinds of Hebrew poetry and this I think is mentioned in your Textbook if I remember so you have musical poetry, which is basically people composing You know lyrics which can be sung in the form of a song So you have musical poetry and a lot of Psalms are in this category where you can actually sing out these Poetic works then there's of course dramatic poetry where you have Dialogue which would be you know job and song of Solomon where you have a story being narrated But a lot of poetic Writing is done You know in the passages even though our drama is being described it's being described in with using a lot of poetic language so This dramatic poetry and there's something called didactic Poetry didactic is just a word which means teaching So you have poetry which is focused on trying to teach something So proverbs and ecclesiasties would fall into this category where you have Teachings being conveyed using poetic form So you have musical poetry dramatic poetry and diactic poetry in You know in these five Poetic books of the Old Testament Now one very basic thing that we need to understand about Hebrew poetry is that it is in no way similar to English poetry Now if you're familiar with English poetry and you have to grow up with it in school Whatever you understand poetry will be very different from what the Hebrew people back then Thought off as poetry because when we come to English poetry It seems to be more about rhyme and rhythm at least traditional poetry now of course poetry has advanced And now they don't really follow this old ancient rules any longer But generally traditionally English poetry is all about rhyme and rhythm So at least the last portions of each sentence I would have to um would have to rhyme For instance, you have twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are so star and are are Rhyming together then you would have up above the world so high like a diamond in the sky So high and sky are rhyming and it's very very important In traditional English poetry the last words rhyme And so there's a kind of rhythm you can almost sing it out. You have jack and jill going up the hill and What happens after that? I wrote it to fetch a pail of water Jack fell down broke his cow and jill came tumbling after so you have water after kind of You know rhyming and of course you have jill hill down crown It's all about rhyme and rhythm The Hebrews did not think of poetry that way at all. Um, they thought of Two parallel thoughts So they have one sentence and then they would come up with another sentence Which is connected to the first sentence. So you have two parallel sentences two parallel phrase Phrases trying to convey One idea or maybe one contrast or there's some connection between those two phrases So for they are not thinking at all in terms of rhyme and rhythm thinking about present Two sentences which will have some interesting connection between them So when you're looking at Hebrew poetry, you always try to see how are the sentences connected You will have one set of sentences which will be trying to convey either a contrast or a similar idea and It's called parallelism And your textbook has got examples of different kinds of parallelism Which are used in our Hebrew poetry. It's good idea. You have a question Exactly. So you're thinking more in terms of thought what is being conveyed rather than just rhyme and rhythm So, yes, it's true that it traditional English poetry was all about that But now, yeah, you have a lot of variety in the because of all the other cultures which have come in and influence English poetry. So yes, it's very very true How do you mean the mess is the message saying where which No, just elaborate the question a little bit The English translators when they were translating the Hebrew poetry They did try to bring out the meaning As exactly as they could But sometimes the imagery which are which is being used would have been better understood by the Hebrew people Rather than us today and we may not really understand the imagery very very clearly For instance, the Hebrew poet would very very confidently say hod you are my rock And here we are in modern day and we're thinking one big, you know Chunk of rock and we're thinking in in what does god look like a rock So for them Some of the imagery would have made more sense But English translator has tried to stay very sincere and very exact in doing the translation So sometimes they they change the wording a little bit to make the meaning a little more clear Maybe in niv and you know other versions like that nkjv will not even do it It'll just stick to the original translation Whether you understand it or not, they would prefer to just stick to the original wording niv tries to make it a little more Easy for the Readers to understand and so sometimes it adds an extra word or two just to bring out the meaning So you have all of these variations in our English translations But yeah, they're really trying to stay as accurate as possible So, yeah, that is just for us to know a little bit about Hebrew poetry so one example that we can A couple of examples maybe if we could have one person read out proverbs chapter one verse eight And then we can see what two parallel thoughts are being presented over there probably one eight if someone could read out okay, so Something is being said in the first portion, you know Pay attention to your father's instruction and the same thing is being uh repeated in the second phase But you know, it's being put in a slightly different manner Do not forsake your mother's teaching. So this would be in fact be a synonymous Parallelism where both the sentences are trying to convey the same thing But then in some proverbs we'll have two contrasting sentences The first sentence is talking about the what the wise man does and the second sentence will talk about what the foolish man Does where is a kind of contrast? So these are all the parallelisms which happen in Hebrew poetry um Taking an example maybe from Ecclesiastes if we could have a person read out Ecclesiastes one verse four Ecclesiastes one four Here we see a contrast in the first phrase It's talking about you know, how one generation of people is born they die and other generation comes So generations come and go this constant change Nobody stays alive forever generations come generation go the culture changes But look at the second sentence the earth it stays stable forever and ever through the ages So there's a contrast being um presented between the first sentence and the second sentence So Hebrew poetry is all about parallelism Where you have a kind of contrast or a similarity or a very original thought being conveyed Using two two sentences At some places it's more than two sentences. You would have a maybe a small section of sentences Uh, you know, especially in dramatic poetry, uh, which would be Job Uh and song of Solomon. So these are some of the kinds of poetry that we see So coming now to the book of Job, which is the first poetic book which we see um It's like I said, we would call it dramatic poetry So it's not exactly in the form of a poem. There is a lot of narrative given But there are many many large sections where poetic language is used to convey the discussions So the key personalities as we know Job and his three friends How many friends did Job have technically speaking? If anyone has actually counted the number of friends who mentioned in the book of Job Are three of them mentioned or a four of them mentioned So there are three of them and they do a lot of talking and then And a fourth person speaks up and he says, you know, I kept quiet because you are all you're all elder than me And I wanted you to have your say but I do want to say something and he speaks up So in a way you have one more person present over there who is also a friend Okay, so you can be very of course very technical about it and say yes He had only three friends but that both I was not an enemy. He was a friend Sort of okay, so if the four people have come to ask about his well-being and sit with him and grieve with him Because as part of their culture when someone is grieving you show your respect and concern for that person by coming and being with them for a number of days, you know To sit with them and share in their pain Only thing of course here in this story. We see that rather than being a comfort they become a An actual pain to him adding to his pain rather than helping him. Yeah, you were about to ask a question Is it always more? We cannot say that Hebrew poetry is always more profound than English poetry It all depends on the person who's expressing his thoughts There are some who are able to put their thoughts in a very They can put a very great big idea in the simplest of terms and you know Just using a small bunch of phrases. They can bring out in a great amazing truth That will just depend on the ability of the writer So there's no competition at all between English writers and Hebrew writers and biblical writers Um, of course the biblical writers had the assistance of the Holy Spirit So they did have an advantage But it would be a very wrong statement to say that only the biblical Hebrew poetry is profound And today people cannot come up with something equally beautiful It's just that this is not maybe you know inspired by the Holy Spirit as the word written word of God Whatever efforts are being made now are just means communication that people are using Yeah, so Okay, um, we were say Yes, the the date of the book of Job So it's generally said that the book of Job was written during the patriarchal period If you're not familiar with that term it is a term that you would need to know The patriarchs were the fathers the word patriarch literally means father So the patriarchs were basically your Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph. They are the patriarchs So it is generally believed that this book of Job Even switched to place took place during that time during the time of the Patriarchs, so it's a very very old book a very old story Uh, you know, which happened around the time of the Genesis events So why do people say that they say that because Just like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob they all were serving as priests of their family They would offer sacrifices on behalf of their family. Even this job also Regularly used to offer sacrifices for his family members Why because at that time the tabernacle had not yet been set up the priests had not yet been appointed This was a very early period when all these things had not yet come into existence. So There was no mosaic law at that time. There was no tabernacle Also, we see that Job's wealth is described as this may donkeys this many camels There's not really much mention of gold or silver So in those patriarchal times your wealth was mainly your cattle and your land Very rarely was it in the form of precious metals that came later. So, um, Also, they are the The name for God which is used Here in the book of Job is mainly L Jedi And that is a Name which is very very common in your book of Genesis where Mainly the the name L Shaddai is used again and again to describe God Later on Yahweh became more common But here in the very beginning it was L Shaddai It's not Yahweh because Yahweh is something that gains prominence after, you know God speaks to Moses and says this is who I am. So that name comes later Um Also, they talk about how Job had a very lengthy lifespan. How old was the man when he finally died? Job chapter 42 or 16 What was his age when he finally And people generally did not live one and a half centuries Okay, later on so it was only during the patriarchal times that life spans were that lengthy So that is another thing and then there's something that some people say They talk that they look at Genesis chapter 36 versus 10 and 11 and they make an interesting statement Now nobody knows whether this is true or not At least that's the view which some people hold if someone could read out Genesis chapter 36 versus 10 and 11 Hmm Okay, so they say that this friend of Job Eliphaz the Temonite might have been a descendant of Esau So maybe, you know great great grandson or whatever but somewhere in the close in the lineage to the beginning So is what they say he might have been a Descendant so he might have been a great great grandson or whatever. So all of these um Seem to indicate that the events of Job's life took place a very very long time ago during the patriarchal period now We cannot dismiss the book of Job as just a story as a fairy tale because Other bible writers they talk about him as if he is a historical real person who lived in history We have Ezekiel Who talks about him in chapter 14 Ezekiel 14 versus 14 and 20 Where he refers to Job as a actual person who lived Also James in chapter 5 versus 10 and 11 He talks about Job as if he's a real person who lived Okay, so we cannot dismiss this book as a fairy tale. These are events which actually took place um And they did the story happen It happened somewhere outside the boundaries of the israelite territory because it takes place in the land of us Which would be somewhere in northern arabia not particularly show where um coming to the structure of the book of Job um In chapters one to two We basically see that Satan makes an allegation. That's basically how the entire story begins What is the allegation that satan is making? He says god people are worshiping you only because of the benefits They can get from you you take away all the benefits Then they'll not be interested in worshiping you anymore because you are not worthy of worship So that's the main allegation that he is making god is not really worthy of worship If he does nice things to you, he's earning the right to be worshiped and so okay fine You worship him But what is god's assertion? He says that he is lord god and he is he has a character which is indeed worthy of worship and adoration And so god says even if I withdraw all things from this particular man He will continue to honor me because he recognizes who I am and what I am that I am worthy Of worship even though all the benefits have been withdrawn So um that uh, so that is basically how the story begins and satan asks for permission to remove the benefits So that you know, we can they can all observe joe and see whether he is Continuing to honor god or not. So that would be in chapters one to three Then in chapters four to thirty seven You have the you have three rounds of discussions which take place where all the friends They make the main allegation that you must have done something sinful and that is the reason why you are suffering God does not allow good people to suffer Only if you have done something evil something sinful only then will god allow Suffering to take place is the doctrine which the friends had and so they keep repeating that again and again And then you have the fourth person who finally speaks up eliehu And he says I think god is making you suffer because he wants to humble you He wants to correct you. I think you have too much pride in you And that's the reason why god is trying to humble you by making you suffer So these are all the discussions, uh, which take place in chapters four to thirty seven And then in chapters 38 to 42 is where god finally speaks to joe directly and At the end of it job, you know He says I repent and after job repents then god blesses Job with twice the amount which he had before Okay, so we'll have to look at what is it that job repents off and you know some of those details but You know some other preliminary You know Informations that need to be conveyed um In chapters one and two we see that god, uh, the job very clearly says, you know, I will not Dishonour god, uh, you know, whatever happens and so he holds on to his trust in god and then in chapters three two thirty one We see him getting more and more desperate And he says lord, you're not explaining to me. Why why are you doing this? I have been good and you know that you are god. So you know exactly what I've been doing You know that I've been good these people are saying that I've done something simple But you know the truth. So why why are you not coming through for me? And at one point he goes to the extent of saying, oh, I wish I could have a mediator someone who can stand between god and me And explain because god is not talking to me. He's not answering me And I wish I could someone could do a mediating Incessory job for me so that at least I can get my case across because I am genuinely innocent So there's a lot of grumbling and mumbling which goes on From the side of job in in chapters three to thirty one And it's all mainly because of the pain that he is going through and he feels that god should give him an explanation um, then of course in Chapter 42 Versus one to six he repents of his attitude and finally in the end He is restored that would be in chapter 42 versus seven to 17 so So yeah, the two main things which uh, uh, you know people emphasize from this book of job They talk about chapter 19 Versus 25 to 27 Where he talks about how god will redeem him and restore him So, uh, there's an emphasis on god the redeemer that is in chapter 19 versus 25 to 27 And also where he cries out for a mediator. He says I wish I could have a mediator That would be in chapter 9 33 25 4 And also 33 23 that these are just references which you can note down Um, so finally when job is restored Uh, we see that he gets a double the number of sheep which he had earlier the double the number of camels that he had earlier But he is given only 10 children earlier. He had 10 now again. He's given only 10 That's because he already has another 10 sitting in heaven. So, you know, now he has doubled the children It's just that very sadly due to satan's interference 10 of them are in heaven. Okay, so Um Now let's come to the actual the the meat of this book. What happened? Why did it happen? Yes So, uh, the the question raised was that other people over the children of job godly at all because he had to make sacrifices for them um The thing about human beings is that they all need to make sacrifices Moses used to make sacrifices on his own behalf and on behalf of the others because he too used to come at sins and so All the children of israel had to make sacrifices because none of them were as perfect as jesus in the same way job's children also Were making sinful decisions for which sacrifices had to be made So, uh, we cannot say that job's children were extra rotten Not necessarily in the same way that their sins had to be atoned for all the other people's sins also had to be atoned for So it does not imply anywhere in that passage that they were extra evil or extra sinful But job took the care to be a good priest and do those sacrifices on a regular basis He was not a casual parent who said it's all right. God will just take care No, he had the response sense of responsibility to offer regular sacrifices on their behalf and later on we see the She the high priest also doing that for the people of israel where he would regularly every morning and every evening A sacrifice was offered That is the level of our imperfection Where a sacrifice has to be done every morning and every evening for year after year So that god can continue to accept the people So job's children were not Especially evil or anything. They were sinning in the same with the rest of the human race sins Okay, so yeah coming back to the book of job and what exactly is it about We see that in chapter nine Versus 21 to 24 You know, there's something that job says, okay So we're looking at the very main things in the book of job so that we'll have a clearer picture of this book Okay, so you can turn to your job chapter nine versus 21 to 24 This is an observation which job makes Okay, why am I focusing these particular verses? God when he speaks up He makes two speeches in the two speeches. He touches upon certain specific things which job talked about okay, so God does not give an explanation of why he suffered why he went through that whole painful thing God does not even bother giving an explanation Rather in the two speeches which god makes it touches upon certain things which job said Because for god, it was very important to clarify those particular points because those particular points are connected to the character of god Job raised an issue and the friends raised an issue Regarding the character of god and in the book of job God clarifies this is who I am He does not offer an explanation of why the poor man went through the suffering That is something that would have been explained to him later when he went to heaven But here while he was on the earth No explanation is given and in the book of job Clarification is given directly from a voice from heaven where god clarifies. This is who I am And this is the way I do things. Okay, so just touching upon those main passages To which god gives a reply So job chapter 9 this is 21 to 24 if someone could very quickly read out, please Okay, so job is desperate He's in a very very bad condition and god is not giving him deliverance And so he says my goodness It looks like as if god destroys both the blameless and the wicked Because job in his heart, he knows that he's been regularly giving the sacrifices So in that sense, he is blameless. It doesn't mean that he has not sinned at all But regularly he's been offering sacrifice and seeking, you know, forgiveness for him and his family So he says, uh, uh, it almost looks as if both the blameless and the wicked get destroyed And he says he goes on to say in verse 23 says, I know he mocks the display of the innocent Sure, I am innocent and I'm suffering and it's like I have a body Just sitting over there mocking me and then he goes on to say in verse 24 It's almost as if god, you know, blindfolds the judges so that they can do whatever they want as wickedness happening And god is not taking action against the wicked So this is something which Job says Regarding the character of god What he's trying to convey is that unlike all these wicked people who have been doing evil things I have made every effort to live correctly To live blamelessly Why am I being given the same treatment the other people are being given? It's not right. It doesn't seem correct. I should be getting special treatment But that is not happening. So you see that is the point which he is trying to make over here And We also see other Old Testament writers in other books of the Old Testament who have said something similar Okay, so it's not only Job who has raised this issue If you look in Psalm 66 versus 18 to 20, which we will not read out But then if you go to go, you know, just quickly to your bible Psalm 66 18 to 20 David is speaking over there and he says If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened But God has surely listened and has heard my prayer So David believes that God has heard him. God has answered him because he's doing good because he is living right Okay, so in his heart, David firmly believes if I do good, I should be blessed. I should be rewarded If I do evil, then I should be punished Habakkuk 1 13 Habakkuk raises the question. He says your eyes are too pure to look on evil You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Yeah, the treacherous Why are you silent when the why while the wicked swallow up those more righteous? So these are all questions which have been asked by other people also So Job is saying I have tried so hard to live right and for some reason God is giving me the same treatment that he gives the wicked. In fact, the wicked are better off because he's not punishing them They are flourishing and here I am a good person who did right and look at the suffering that I am undergoing Okay, so it's a question which he raises up and this is God's answer in his first speech Yahweh makes two speeches right in the first speech. This is what The Lord says, you know, just to sum up the entire thing because it's a very lengthy passage Speech one basically God talks about the different acts of creation, you know He says, you know, do you know how how the the snow has been stored? You know, do you know how the rain is created? He talks about all these different acts of creation and basically he's trying to say Look at the great skill with which I have designed everything in creation So I who have used such skill and such great wisdom to make all of these things If you can't understand even these basic things Who are you to question my skill with regard to what I do with humans with both the righteous and the wicked When you cannot understand the things which you can see and touch and explain them How can you start explaining the things which I have in my mind the plans which I have for the righteous and for the wicked? Okay, so that's basically the point that God makes So he God seems to be saying don't question my designing and my planning. It is beyond your understanding Simple human things which are there on the earth. You're unable to understand things which are, you know Decided in the spiritual realm regarding the future regarding eternity regarding humans and how they should be Rewarded and judged those matters go beyond just this physical phenomena If you cannot even understand the physical phenomena, how can you understand these greater things? Is the main point which God makes in his first speech Coming to the second speech In the second speech He talks about two main Creatures the behemoth and the leviathan. He talks about these two creatures And he says are you powerful enough to control them? Are you powerful enough to make them do what you want done? Indirectly God is saying I know how to deal with the wicked and I will do it in my time You who cannot even handle human creatures, which are roaming around on the face of the earth What can you say about, you know, how I choose to control and manipulate and use the Great powers which exist, you know the humans the rulers the ones who think that they are all powerful So God uses in the second speech Uses the example of the behemoth and the leviathan to say in the same way I can control these creatures and make them do whatever I want in the same way I control the powerful and the wicked and the violent and I know what to do with them Okay, so God does not even answer Job about why the suffering has taken place Rather God talks about his character Now, um In the end we see a little, you know, people can tend to be puzzled about this last portion where God Criticizes the friends and he says what they have said is very very wrong And then God says to Job what Job has said is correct But at the same time Joe God scolds Job and says why are you speaking without, you know, any wisdom? So what exactly is going on over here? God says the friends are wrong God says Job is correct But God also scolds Job and says you're speaking nonsense without understanding, you know, without without understanding without wisdom You are speaking. So what exactly is being conveyed over here? The main thing which Job goes on saying throughout You know, if you if you have to sum up all the long speeches of Job The main thing which he is saying is I am good. I have done good But God is punishing me. God should only reward me If basic summary of what Job is saying friends, what are they saying again and again? They're going to say Um, God blesses the good God always blesses the good. He never punishes the good. You are something bad is happening to you So conclusion, you must have sinned in some way So you have these two parties making these two main assumptions and God is saying What the friends are saying about me is wrong I never said that I will only give good things to people who are following me because I have a mind Which goes beyond human understanding and I have my own plans, you know Of how to Work out events in history because we see it happening even in the life of Jesus Jesus the one perfect person who never sinned who did everything right God allows evil to play a very strong powerful role in his life Why because God was helpless because God had forsaken Jesus No, but because God's wisdom is so great and that's what paul He don't talks about in the in the in his epistle He says the wisdom of God is so great that satan did not catch what was going to happen He could not understand what God had planned because the wisdom of God was that great so um over here God is saying to the friends What you have said about me is wrong I have never ever said that I will only do good to the people who are following me and I God says I will even allow suffering because I have a higher plan And in fact, we see that higher plan very clearly demonstrated in the life of the messiah He's called the suffering servant He underwent more suffering than you know, most people have ever gone through But what an amazing result came out of that the redemption of entire mankind So God says I am following a higher level of thinking which humans cannot understand All you can do is stand back. Look at what I'm doing and as you begin to understand it Stand and worship me and adore me. That's all you cannot understand it all at your level Okay, so God judges the Friends for making a wrong accusation in what way was job correct in his speech He was correct in the sense. He genuinely had not done any, you know, terrible great sin Which he was refusing to confess and repent of there were no Unconfessed sins in his life He was regularly repenting of all his undoing or all his wrongdoings and he was in a right relationship with God So job was correct and the friends were wrong and what did job have to repent of Job had to repent of the fact that he was demanding an explanation and saying What kind of a God is this? He's treating me the same way. He's treating the wicked And God said there are things which you don't understand You're asking for explanations which you do not have the right to ask for because in your limited Understanding you cannot even understand creation. Where will you understand bigger things? So the end at the end of the book it is just left like that God never actually explains why he sometimes uses evil Why he uses suffering sometimes to break out good It's not something that has been fully explained even today We know that all things work together for good for those who love God But why does God use bad things? Sometimes why does he permit and allow some of those bad things? You know To achieve his purposes. He does not give a full explanation Even today even now But even as we see how he works out the good and the evil In his greater plan to bring out something beautiful every time we see that We just have to stand and begin to grasp what he's doing and worship him and acknowledge and say yes Lord your plans are indeed great and marvelous So a book of Job is all about submission It's all about admitting that yes, I am human And scientists who consider themselves so great and who think they have already understood all the things that are to understand Have still not understood how the basic human brain really works Why do human beings dream? Why are dreams so essential to the to human? You know, um, you know understanding and to keep a human being sane because without dreams people would actually go mad Basic things of life scientists have not understood So Humans are still in the process of trying to discover all that God has planned for humanity And so Job book of Job says just submit to him Trust in him and when the time comes God will take care of his own He will watch out for them. He will fulfill his plans for them And he will fulfill his plans for all of mankind and humanity All right, so those are some of the main things which are brought out in the book of Job We could not go through the actual verses and the actual passages because that would take too much time But you know, generally when the book of Job is taught as a separate book Uh, it kind of goes over three months where each passage is clearly discussed And these basic truths which I have talked about they are brought out in greater detail in greater clarity But this is just like a kind of summing up for you to kind of have an overall idea of what this particular book talks about So now in the last two minutes that we have if anyone has any deep profound question. Yes You know, if my English teacher could hear you she would say you need to enunciate open your mouth and bring out the words patriarchs are the Abraham Isaac Jacob Ben Joseph. They are the called the patriarchs the fathers of the nation So the period during which they lived is called the patriarchal period If you're asking for exact dates go to a scholar have no idea So that's just the patriarchal period So these events took place sometime during that time when those people were living So it's a very ancient old story is what they are trying to say Yeah Yeah, it's what I had read somewhere. I don't remember the okay the question asked over here It's what is the duration of this entire story of Job? How many months did it extend over? Yes, it extended sometime over a period of three or four months. It did not happen in one week Okay, so Job did not become all discouraged and go to the extent of grumbling and mumbling in a matter of one week It took time and the man had nothing to look forward to in that time. They got a silent complete silence And it's amazing This um, okay, there's the bell Let's leave it. Okay. Let's just close with a word of prayer. Uh, yeah Lord, we just thank you so much for this class that we could have Thank you a lot for some of the things that we could see in this book of Job What was true for Job a lot is true even for us today Even today we still do not understand many things Many things that you permit to happen to us But lord, we know we now know because of the bible because of all the stories of these people that we can trust you We may not know the why and the how and the details and the when and When the relief will come and all of that but after having read all of these stories At least we know now oh lord very clearly that you will come through for us You will always be faithful to your people. You will never put us to shame when we place our trust in you So I thank you a lot that we can have this wonderful hope And lord, I pray that we would be like this man Job um Who had led such a godly life That even when everyone was making allegations and saying no no you must have done some sin He could look into his heart and clearly see that he had really tried his best to honor you Put an amazing man. Oh lord Help us a lot to be at that level Way we have such a walk with you Way we are really making such a concentrated effort to honor you in every single decision of our lives That lord even when someone lifts a finger we can clearly say no I have genuinely stood for the lord Thank you lord that you are a forgiving god and that um when we fall You forgive us and you treat us as though we are blameless. You no longer remember those sins But once we have repented once we have confessed you just regard us as being blameless in your eyes Thank you a lot for your great love and compassion towards us Thank you lord in jesus name amen Amen. Thank you so much