Hebrew Word Study – Contend – Cherov – Cheth Resh Beth
Job 40:1-2: Moreover, the Lord answer Job, and said: ‘Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it.’ ”
We always say that Job went through his suffering but never sinned. That is not quite right. Job did do something wrong, he asked God. “Why?” There was a belief in ancient times that still carries over to today. The logic is this:
Suffering is due to sin
Job is suffering
Therefore Job is a sinner.
Well, the Book of Job just blows apart the presupposition that suffering is due to sin, because Job was righteous.
If you ever took a philosophy class in college your professor no doubt told you the story of the final exam given in an Ivy League school. The professor walked into class and put one word on the blackboard “Why.” All the students spent the whole class hour writing on the word “why,” except one student who wrote four words on his paper, placed it on the professor’s desk and walk out. There was only one “A” given on the test. It was, of course, the student who wrote the four words: “I don’t know why.”
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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When my brother was learning the Amana language in New Guinea in preparation to translate the Bible into that language, he found that he could not get the people to give him an Amana word for “why.” He noticed the men put blood on their bows before going out to hunt. So the next time they prepared to hunt, my brother asked: “—— did you put blood on your bows.” He was hoping they would understand he was asking “why” and they would fill in the blank. They replied; “Yes, we put blood on the bows.” Later when visiting a neighboring village he was talking with the chief about his problem and told the story of the blood on bows. The chief laughed and said; “Andy, did it ever occur to you that they do not have a word for ‘why.’ In fact, if they knew you were asking why they would be insulted. “What, you think we are stupid, we don’t have a reason for doing what we do?’
“Shall he who contends with the Almighty instruct Him?” The word contend is cherov which is in an imperative form and means to dry up. Shall he who tells the Almighty to dry up instruct Him.” Well, maybe that is not a correct translation but it does come close for the word has the idea of waste, ruin, worthless. In other words, Job was telling God that his suffering was a waste, worthless, of no value. The word instruct is really a guess at what the next two words really mean. It’s meaning is uncertain. The words are yisor mokich. Literally, a reprover he who reproves. See why the meaning is difficult. Yisor has the idea of turning to oneself. The root word is Samek, Beth, Beth. The Samek represents a shelter and the Beth represents your heart, thus this turning to oneself literally means “let him find shelter in his own heart.” Mokich is in a Hiphil form and carries the idea of proving or showing.
To paraphrase what God is saying to Job is: “Job, if you can ask the Almighty (Shaddai), why, when you can’t even understand or comprehend all the things I listed in the previous chapter, then show me you can find shelter in your own heart. Otherwise, you will have to just trust Me.” As my old Hebrew professor like to put it: “Job, I can explain to you why, but you would never understand it, so just trust me.”
Like the Amana people my brother questioned. If they knew he was asking why, they would be insulted. So, to with God. When Job asked God why, he was really insulting God. “What, you think I don’t know what I doing. I am allowing you to suffer cherov, for no reason. You think I don’t love you, that I am not in control?”
You know, I am beginning to realize that I am just too dog gone human to really understand the mind of God. I really spend a lot of time trying to figure out things. But, you know, there are some things I just can’t figure out. I’ve stopped asking Him why when I go through a dark valley. Now, I just simply say: “Ok, Lord, I will trust you. I will trust that you love me and are in control, but remember, 100 years from now, You and I have an appointment on some street corner in Heaven where we are going sit down and you are going to explain it all to me, even if it takes a hundred years.
“But,” you say: “Don’t we have a right to know, how dare God not explain the reason for things like suffering? Isn’t it unfair to not explain the reason why?” To that I will quote one of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, favorite sayings: “Who sez?”
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Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!
I loved this teaching!!! And I remember my Daddy’s answer once when one of us asked him after being told something…he was asked “why”…. I was in shock..I was the oldest of 4, I just remember his answer….”””” Because I said so” and that was the absolute end of that.
It’s interesting how two can read the same text and have different understandings.
No one knows the pain of losing a child until they lose one. Job lost them all. I noticed when reading the book of Job after losing my son, that he and I had somethings in common. We both loved the Lord. We both hated evil and were righteous. We both were pretty proud of how well we were blessed by God. We both noticed our kids didn’t have it quite right. Both of us interceded for our kids because perhaps we feared for them, but we thought our works could protect them.
Job 3:25, “For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.
What was the fear? Mine was that I wasn’t adequately covering my son. As if I was the protector and not God.
God saw both Job’s and mine faithfulness and works. He bragged on Job.
When you’re a doer and in agony and suffering the lose of a child, you crave answers. You want to do something. You want restitution. No one knows what skin for skin means until they lose a child. It’s why there’s so much retaliation among youth.
I didn’t question God’s ability. I wanted to know why my prayers didn’t work. I don’t think Job questioned God’s ability. If I needed to close a door opened to the enemy I wanted to know. If I needed to change something, tell me. I wanted to know why this thing happened on my watch. Ask a Secret Service man if he questions why when losing a client only to know how to not have it happen again.
And going through the stages of grief, and talking with God, stuff comes out of the mouth and it’s because of anger.
How does anyone think asking God Why is a problem when He tells us, “Ask and it shall be given, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door shall be opened”…” see the woman asking the unjust judge, it was because of her continuing to come asking him that he gave to her?
If you can show me in scripture where God doesn’t welcome being questioned Why? I’ll see it’s why He bent Job’s ear.
I identified Job and myself as being a bit too self righteous in our works and Satan the legalist caught the technicality. The Prince and power of the air goes to and fro seeking whom he can devour. That’s why we suffer. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.
But in grief, we begin to discredit God’s plans and may see things as ‘what’s the point of being born if my works are no good and I lose to the devil’?
(I think it was about Job’s works because his friends were busting his chops)
I think God SHOULD be a bit ticked off with us that we don’t have more faith in Him.
So after being in grief for more than I should’ve been and sitting at the kitchen table mourning, I hear this booming voice from my spirit and He says, “I AM THE RESURRECTION!” And I jumped out from the chair with my arms raised in worship. It was like God Himself had to jumpstart my faith again and remind me He is God and His plan is good. That is an answer. And it wasn’t a small whisper of a voice.
Teena, I read your comment. I can only imagine your pain . I really believe you are right about us asking Him “why”. I believe He desires us to ask Him anything. I think the real problem for some of us is that the answer is not always speedy.