The book of Job

[ZNP]

Hidden_Priesthood_Updated.pdf

drive.google.com

(Please note, this is further details on my document that the book of Job gives us the constitution of the Melchisedek priesthood)

The Hidden Priesthood — Key Insights​

The Central Argument


There has always been a priesthood older and greater than the Levitical order. The Melchizedekian priesthood — the order Hebrews declares Jesus holds — never disappeared between Genesis 14 and the New Testament. It ran underground, preserved by outsiders, always pointing forward to the same destination.


The Line


God → Noah → Shem (possibly Melchizedek himself, per strong rabbinic tradition) → Abraham → Midianites/Kenites → Jethro → Zechariah → Essenes → Jesus.


The Kenite Mission — The Document's Most Original Contribution


When Abraham sent Keturah's sons east, this was not rejection — it was strategic deployment. Abraham had carried the Genesis 15 prophecy for 70 years: he knew Egypt was coming. The birth of Jacob and Esau — the next covenant generation — was the trigger. He commissioned Keturah's youngest son at age 13 (the age of accountability) and sent them east to preserve in the desert what Isaac's descendants would lose in Egypt.


The arithmetic is stunning. From the sending east to Israel's entry into the promised land — including the Exodus and 40 years of wilderness wandering guided by Hobab the Kenite — is exactly 600 years. This is the number of Noah, who was 600 years old when he carried the pre-Flood revelation through catastrophe into a new world. The Kenite mission is a Noah event in miniature: preservation through judgment, delivery into new life, sealed with the same number.


The Archaeological Confirmation


A 1400 BC Egyptian inscription at Solb identifies desert nomads as "the Shasu of Yahweh" — the oldest known appearance of the divine name outside the Hebrew Bible, attached to the Midianites and Kenites before Sinai. The burning bush was not an introduction. Moses already knew the name through Jethro. Additionally, the Timna Valley tabernacle — a Kenite tent sanctuary predating Sinai — shares the architectural vocabulary and symbolic imagery of the Mosaic tabernacle. The tabernacle form did not appear from nothing.


Jethro — The Most Underread Chapter in Exodus


Exodus 18 records Aaron and all the elders of Israel eating a covenant meal presided over by a Midianite nomad. If Jethro were a pagan, this would be blasphemy. The text offers no apology because none is needed: Jethro is the senior priest in the room, handing back what the Kenites had been keeping for centuries.


The Recurring Pattern


Again and again the same signature appears: the marginal figure provides what the official structure cannot. Jael the Kenite delivers Israel when Barak won't act. The Rechabites maintain faithfulness when Israel abandons it. The Essenes preserve the Melchizedekian theology while the temple establishment corrupts.


The Promise Behind the Pattern


"I will not leave you orphans" (John 14:18). Before every Egypt, God deploys a custodian. Before every captivity, the ancient priesthood goes into the desert to wait. The margins kept what the center lost — so that when the center was ready, nothing would have been wasted.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

You still haven't answered the question, was Job's faith in God's righteousness, or his own righteousness?

Job's faith was in God.

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job 13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.

Job 19:25-27 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Job 23:10-12 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

.

 

[tttallison]

Job's faith was in God.

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job 13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.

Job 19:25-27 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Job 23:10-12 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

.

Since you are responding to this post you could at least answer the question, was it Job's righteousness, or God's righteousness that Job was depending on to preserve his soul through the first 40 chapters?

God said, Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Job said, Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

 

[christophernyc]

You still haven't answered the question, was Job's faith in God's righteousness, or his own righteousness?

Job's faith is in God. This should be evident in the recent posts regarding the epistle of James.

Can you answer the question posed to you in post #819? It reads:

So according to your own independent interpretation, Job is persevering in his pride the whole time he is suffering?

 

[tttallison]

Job's faith is in God. This should be evident in the recent posts regarding the epistle of James.

Can you answer the question posed to you in post #819? It reads:

So according to your own independent interpretation, Job is persevering in his pride the whole time he is suffering?

You avoided answering the question. Yes, Job had faith that God would save him. Job knew he didn't have the power to save himself. But here is the problem, Job thought he deserved to be saved because he was a good person. We know, or at least I hope you know that no one is ever saved because they are a good person. Job needed to be clothed in God's righteousness, who we know to be Jesus Christ.

God said, Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
The spirit said,Job 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Elihu said, Job 35:2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?
The three friends said, Job 32:1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

In answer to your question, yes.

Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

Job said, Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Job was responding to the claims of his friends that Job had sinned and needed to repent.

Job 27:3-6

3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.


Job's friends wanted Job to repent of sin he had not committed. If Job had followed through on what they wanted, he would have been lying about himself ... which would be a lie and that would be sin.

Eliphaz implied sin on the part of Job (Job 4:7-8) was the reason Job was undergoing his distress;

then accused Job of turning from God (Job 15:13) when Job did not agree with Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar in their claims that he had sinned;

then falsely accused Job of great wickedness (Job 22:5) ... claiming Job had behaved poorly toward folks in need.


Bildad claimed Job's children were killed because of their sin (Job 8:4) ... so nice to discuss when a "friend" is covered from head to toe with sore boils ... then Bildad accused Job of being a hypocrite who forgot God (Job 8:13);

then claimed that Job dwelt with the wicked and he did not know God (Job 18:21).


Zophar accused Job of lying and mocking in an effort to not hear his friends tell "truth" to Job (Job 11:3);

then lumped Job in with the hypocrite and the wicked (Job 20:5).


Nowhere did Job claim to be perfectly sinless ... Job's claim was that in the current circumstance, there was no sin on Job's part for which he needed to repent, or if Job had sinned, he asked God to reveal that to him so he could repent.


According to Deuteronomy 19:15, at least 2 witnesses are needed in order to establish whether someone had sinned:

Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu never corroborated the accusation of the other ... therefore, no sin on the part of Job has ever been established, notwithstanding your claim to the contrary.

At the time of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief priests, elders, and the council had 2 false witnesses testify against Him:

Matthew 26:59-61

59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

According to vs 60, many false witnesses testified, but none of their accusations were confirmed by another witness. They finally found two ... so they had what they needed to satisfy Deuteronomy 19:15 ... but they were false witnesses.

.

 

[tttallison]

Job was responding to the claims of his friends that Job had sinned and needed to repent.

Job 27:3-6

3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.


Job's friends wanted Job to repent of sin he had not committed. If Job had followed through on what they wanted, he would have been lying about himself ... which would be a lie and that would be sin.

Eliphaz implied sin on the part of Job (Job 4:7-8) was the reason Job was undergoing his distress;

then accused Job of turning from God (Job 15:13) when Job did not agree with Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar in their claims that he had sinned;

then falsely accused Job of great wickedness (Job 22:5) ... claiming Job had behaved poorly toward folks in need.


Bildad claimed Job's children were killed because of their sin (Job 8:4) ... so nice to discuss when a "friend" is covered from head to toe with sore boils ... then Bildad accused Job of being a hypocrite who forgot God (Job 8:13);

then claimed that Job dwelt with the wicked and he did not know God (Job 18:21).


Zophar accused Job of lying and mocking in an effort to not hear his friends tell "truth" to Job (Job 11:3);

then lumped Job in with the hypocrite and the wicked (Job 20:5).


Nowhere did Job claim to be perfectly sinless ... Job's claim was that in the current circumstance, there was no sin on Job's part for which he needed to repent, or if Job had sinned, he asked God to reveal that to him so he could repent.


According to Deuteronomy 19:15, at least 2 witnesses are needed in order to establish whether someone had sinned:

Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu never corroborated the accusation of the other ... therefore, no sin on the part of Job has ever been established, notwithstanding your claim to the contrary.

At the time of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief priests, elders, and the council had 2 false witnesses testify against Him:

Matthew 26:59-61

59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

According to vs 60, many false witnesses testified, but none of their accusations were confirmed by another witness. They finally found two ... so they had what they needed to satisfy Deuteronomy 19:15 ... but they were false witnesses.

.

Again, you have avoided answering the question.

Was it Job's own righteousness that he was depending on or was it God's righteousness that Job was depending on to save him. Just a simple Job's or God's will suffice.

 

[ZNP]

Again, you have avoided answering the question.

Was it Job's own righteousness that he was depending on or was it God's righteousness that Job was depending on to save him. Just a simple Job's or God's will suffice.

You have asked exactly the right question, and it deserves a direct answer. Was Job depending on his own righteousness or God's through the first 41 chapters? His own. Absolutely. We agree on that completely.


But here is where I think your argument stops short of where the text is taking us.


The man born blind in John chapter nine said something that unlocks the entire book of Job: "Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth." (John 9:31)


That verse is the spine of the book of Job. God does not hear sinners. Therefore every prayer Job offered, every protestation of innocence, every demand for an audience with God through the first 41 chapters — none of it had Melchizedekian weight. Job was praying, but God was not receiving it in the intercessory sense. And then Job 42:8 happens. God turns to Eliphaz and says "my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept." That word accept is doing enormous theological work. It marks the precise moment a sinner becomes a priest. The moment God begins to hear Job is the moment the book has been building toward from page one.


So yes — Job sinned and fell short of the glory of God. But that is not the indictment of Job you are presenting it as. It is the universal human condition that makes the book of Job necessary in the first place.


Consider the company Job keeps in this regard.


Saul of Tarsus was not interceding for others before Damascus — he was dragging them off to prison and holding the coats of those who stoned them. Was that faith? Was that righteousness? By your standard, no. And yet Paul became the man who said "I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my brethren" (Romans 9:3) — the very definition of Melchizedekian intercession.


Peter did not begin as a priest after the order of Melchizedek. He began as a man who looked Jesus in the face and told Him He didn't need to pay the redemptive price for others. Jesus called that satanic (Matthew 16:23). And yet Peter became the man whose shadow healed the sick in the streets of Jerusalem.


James and Jude did not begin as pillars of the church. During the ministry of Jesus they were among those who said He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21, John 7:5). And yet James became the presiding elder of Jerusalem and Jude became a contender for the faith once delivered to the saints.


None of them started as Melchizedekian priests. Every one of them became one.


That word — become — is the word that unlocks Job. The book of Job is not a portrait of a finished priest. It is the constitution of how a priest is made. The suffering, the stripping away of self-righteousness, the whirlwind, the silence before God — these are not the story of a man who failed. They are the curriculum of a man being qualified.


Job 42:5 is the graduation: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee."


And Job 42:8 is the ordination: "him will I accept."


You ask whether Job was clothed in his own righteousness or God's. Through chapter 41, his own — and it was insufficient, which is precisely why God had to strip it away. By chapter 42, God's — which is why God could finally hear him, and why three men's eternal souls were placed in his hands.


The form of godliness was there from chapter one. Job offered sacrifices for his children. He was blameless and upright in his own conduct. But Paul warned Timothy about having the form of godliness while denying the power (2 Timothy 3:5). The power of godliness is the intercessory standing before God that only comes through Christ's righteousness. Job had to lose everything — including his own righteousness — before he could receive it.


That is not a flaw in the typology. That is the typology working exactly as God designed it.


The book of Job is showing us how a man becomes a priest after the order of Melchizedek. They do not start out as one. Neither did Saul. Neither did Peter. Neither did James or Jude. And neither did Job.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

Again, you have avoided answering the question.

I have answered your question numerous times.

Job was a man of faith. Job lived in a time when there was no written Word of God ... God's Word was handed down from parents to children. Job was a grown man and the patriarch of his family at the time of satan's unwarranted attack.

Job lived according to what he knew from God ... Job reverenced God ... Job was upright in character ... Job eschewed evil. To "eschew evil" is to turn from wickedness ... to live a life that is pleasing to God ... and when he fell short, Job repented before God in accordance to the time he lived in (i.e. through sacrifice and offering).

Was Job perfect? no ... just as you are not perfect but you live according to what you know to be pleasing to God.

Was it Job's own righteousness that he was depending on or was it God's righteousness that Job was depending on to save him. Just a simple Job's or God's will suffice.

When you do the same as Job ... live according to what you know to be truth from God ... upright in character ... pleasing to God ... are you depending on your "own righteousness" or are you depending on "God's righteousness" ???

.

 

[christophernyc]

You state what Job said about the good things Job had accomplished. But you haven’t considered what his best friend said about him might be true. Who knew Job better than Eliphaz?

As answered previously, who knows Job better than Eliphaz? Answer —> Job’s wife. She would know better than any other person of Job's character. And what is her testimony after Job's trial begins? She recognizes and states that Job is maintaining his integrity (2:9).

Job said, Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. Remember when Paul was having Christians killed? Paul thought he was doing God’s work. Job also thought he was doing God’s work, but like Paul, Job’s judgment was flawed because he was without knowledge.

This is just conflation. Paul’s journey is not Job’s journey of faith. Paul was responsible for murdering innocent people. Job was delivering innocent people from perpetrators and providing justice for them because of his faith in God.

Eliphaz's statement about Job, Job 22:5-10 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

Eliphaz is lying. These are false accusations. This is Eliphaz’s third speech to Job and he has likely reached the height of his frustration, so he begins inventing sins for Job out of thin air.

While there may be truth in general to his statements, the application of these principles are being misapplied to Job. Herein is a great example of why God’s anger burned against Eliphaz. This is a great example of Eliphaz’s sin.

You speak of Job’s faith, but I ask you, does the details of that faith matter?

I have a neighbor, and he believes God is going to save him. He believes God is going to save him because his good outweighs his bad. Is he going to heaven? Suppose he accomplished more good than any other man living, is he going to heaven even though he has rejected God’s righteousness in favor of his own?

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Did you notice Job’s acceptance of his suffering prior to his friends’ arrival? First, he blesses the name of the Lord. Second, he refuses to speak evil (like his wife urged him to) and he says, Shall we receive good from the Lord and not receive evil? This is humble acceptance of the tragedies that have happened to him, all the while acknowledging and honoring God.

The reason Job details his good works is not to boast. He is not declaring these things in a vacuum. He is actively being accused by his friends for having done the opposite. That is why Job defends himself in this way. He is rebutting their false accusations. He was proving them wrong, which is confirmed by God in the end.

Make sense?

 

[tttallison]

As answered previously, who knows Job better than Eliphaz? Answer —> Job’s wife. She would know better than any other person of Job's character. And what is her testimony after Job's trial begins? She recognizes and states that Job is maintaining his integrity (2:9).



This is just conflation. Paul’s journey is not Job’s journey of faith. Paul was responsible for murdering innocent people. Job was delivering innocent people from perpetrators and providing justice for them because of his faith in God.



Eliphaz is lying. These are false accusations. This is Eliphaz’s third speech to Job and he has likely reached the height of his frustration, so he begins inventing sins for Job out of thin air.

While there may be truth in general to his statements, the application of these principles are being misapplied to Job. Herein is a great example of why God’s anger burned against Eliphaz. This is a great example of Eliphaz’s sin.



Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Did you notice Job’s acceptance of his suffering prior to his friends’ arrival? First, he blesses the name of the Lord. Second, he refuses to speak evil (like his wife urged him to) and he says, Shall we receive good from the Lord and not receive evil? This is humble acceptance of the tragedies that have happened to him, all the while acknowledging and honoring God.

The reason Job details his good works is not to boast. He is not declaring these things in a vacuum. He is actively being accused by his friends for having done the opposite. That is why Job defends himself in this way. He is rebutting their false accusations. He was proving them wrong, which is confirmed by God in the end.

Make sense?

It would seem that intellectual integrity is somewhat missing. Job's wife did not state that Job was maintaining his integrity.

I have asked whether Job was trusting in his own righteousness, or God's righteousness for his salvation. It is simple. Job's righteousness, or God's righteousness?

 

[reneweddaybyday]

I have asked whether Job was trusting in his own righteousness, or God's righteousness for his salvation. It is simple. Job's righteousness, or God's righteousness?

you are asking a question to which only God has the answer ... God is the only One who knows the heart of man.

.

 

[tttallison]

Eliphaz is lying. These are false accusations. This is Eliphaz’s third speech to Job and he has likely reached the height of his frustration, so he begins inventing sins for Job out of thin air.

What evidence do you present that Eliphaz is lying?

 

[tttallison]

you are asking a question to which only God has the answer ... God is the only One who knows the heart of man.

.

Would either answer lead a person to salvation?

 

[reneweddaybyday]

Would either answer lead a person to salvation?

Job was a believer ... already saved ... before satan attacked him.

.

 

[tttallison]

Job was a believer ... already saved ... before satan attacked him.

.

You are defying logic. You can't answer whether Job was relying on his own righteousness to save him, or God's righteousness, an yet you claim he was saved. How can this be? Are you saying it doesn't matter whether or not it was Job's righteousness, or God's righteousness that Job was depending on?

 

[ZNP]

You are defying logic. You can't answer whether Job was relying on his own righteousness to save him, or God's righteousness, an yet you claim he was saved. How can this be? Are you saying it doesn't matter whether or not it was Job's righteousness, or God's righteousness that Job was depending on?

I answered this question, why are you ignoring my answer?

 

[christophernyc]

It would seem that intellectual integrity is somewhat missing. Job's wife did not state that Job was maintaining his integrity.

Job 2:9
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity?
Why does Job's wife, who knows him better than anyone other person, ask him why he is maintaining his integrity? Why? Because he is maintaining his integrity, evidenced by her words, in addition to his actions, i.e., not cursing God and accepting his suffering. Read the Scripture.

I have asked whether Job was trusting in his own righteousness, or God's righteousness for his salvation. It is simple. Job's righteousness, or God's righteousness?

Yes, we know So let's try again?

Job's faith is in God Himself.

No need to complicate it.

 

[tttallison]

I answered this question, why are you ignoring my answer?

This question was not directed to you and no you have not been answering my questions.

 

[tttallison]

Job 2:9
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity?
Why does Job's wife, who knows him better than anyone other person, ask him why he is maintaining his integrity? Why? Because he is maintaining his integrity, evidenced by her words, in addition to his actions, i.e., not cursing God and accepting his suffering. Read the Scripture.



Yes, we know So let's try again?

Job's faith is in God Himself.

No need to complicate it.

You said she made a statement and that is not true. She asked a question.


In God himself what? That God exists! A lot of people believe that. Does that mean they are saved?

Do you really not understand what I asked you, or are you playing me?