In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
In Elihu's speech to Job it describes God speaking in a dream and vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men in slumberings upon the bed. It teaches that this is one of God's appointed means of instruction, by which He speaks once, yea twice, even when men do not perceive Him speaking. In that sleep He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction to withdraw man from his own purpose and hide pride from him and turn him from his chosen course. By this warning He seeks to keep man back from the pit and from destruction and death, to preserve him from ruin and bring back his soul to life enlightened with the light of the living. Those thus instructed are prophets, and God has not ceased to warn in this way, so when He opens eyes and ears men must pay attention, lest unheeded warnings be followed by chastening with pain upon the bed to arouse them to their danger.
Setting and Wording
The verse stands in Elihu's speech to Job after the argument between Job and his friends closed in chapter 31. Elihu was a younger man who thought his superior wisdom would correct Job, and he followed about the same line as the other friends. His argument in the later chapters tries to convince Job that Job himself is not very great while God is everything. Job makes no answer to his plea, no comment is given upon it, and Elihu was given no answer. The verse stands in the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37. Those chapters form the third of the four parts of the book of Job. They come after the prologue and the debate between Job and his three friends. They come before the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud. The verse describes a night vision, a vision received during the night while a person is asleep in bed in deep sleep or slumberings upon the bed. A night vision so received stands in contrast to an open vision. Farther down in earth's history God instructed men not by angels appearing visibly but by speaking in a dream and a vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men. God speaks to men through the nerve of hearing in dreams and night visions when deep sleep falls on them. Such speaking can be God speaking to a person for the first time, addressing him alone and directly through a dream or vision of the night.
Purpose of Night Visions
God speaks to people in dreams and visions of the night, when deep sleep falls upon them in slumberings upon the bed, and this night-speaking is one of His appointed means of instruction. He speaks in this way once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not. In that sleep He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction to them.
That sealing is to withdraw man from his own purpose and to hide pride from him and to turn him from his chosen course. Human purposes are not always in harmony with the mind of God, and pride lying at the bottom of many purposes beclouds the mind so that men cannot reason from cause to effect. That pride would otherwise prove their ruin, so the change wrought is from pride to humility and from man's purpose to God's purpose.
Through this instruction and warning He seeks to keep man back from the pit and from destruction and from death by the sword, to preserve him from ruin, to bring back his soul from the pit, and to lead him toward life enlightened with the light of the living. He does not cast the sinner aside when he is not in suitable condition to hear the first time, but gives him more than one opportunity to turn and have character transformed from earthly to heavenly. He speaks once to show the error of his way and a second time to show the folly of his course, including during sleep.
If those speakings do not change his mind and transform his character, He gives yet another and final opportunity through the voice of pain and the language of disease, just as starch missed by saliva still has probation by pancreatic juice and intestinal juice. When warnings by word and by dreams are unheeded, He permits affliction to speak in a more impressive way, chastening with pain upon the bed and with sickness and severe pain for correction until the body wastes, bones stick out, appetite for bread and dainty meat is lost, and life draws near death. He does this only to arouse man to his danger and to open ears dull of hearing, because every trial is sent to teach truth He tried to teach in prosperity but men failed to learn, and because He seeks to mold and fashion men after the divine similitude, fullness and indulgence having dulled sensitivity to His voice.
The principle is seen in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the tree, where God in love for souls gave both the dream and its interpretation to save the king from carrying out the prideful purpose in his mind. The counsel joined to it was to break off sins by righteousness and iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, which if heeded would have saved him from humiliation to the level of beasts until he acknowledged that the Most High rules and does according to His will. Because men are anxious and busy about many things during the day, like Martha failing to choose the better part, God cannot get their attention, so His school remains open night as well as day. At night He opens ears and seals instruction, making the coming of the evening a time of rejoicing and a season of helpful instruction just as the morning is.
Prophetic Gift and Response
Those instructed in a dream and a vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men in slumberings upon the bed are prophets. Farther down in earth's history men were instructed not by angels appearing visibly but by God speaking in a dream and a vision of the night in that deep sleep. In that sleep He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction. Through the spirit of prophecy He so turns people from their own purposes and hides pride from them.
God has not ceased speaking in this way, and a dream during deep sleep at night may carry a message from Him. Such a dream can serve as a warning rather than being merely the result of confused thoughts. These warnings through dreams and visions are meant to turn people from pride and keep them from destruction. When God opens eyes and ears and shows the danger, the instruction is not to be dismissed but to be heeded with attention.
In Elihu's speech to Job it describes God speaking in a dream and vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men in slumberings upon the bed. It teaches that this is one of God's appointed means of instruction, by which He speaks once, yea twice, even when men do not perceive Him speaking. In that sleep He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction to withdraw man from his own purpose and hide pride from him and turn him from his chosen course. By this warning He seeks to keep man back from the pit and from destruction and death, to preserve him from ruin and bring back his soul to life enlightened with the light of the living. Those thus instructed are prophets, and God has not ceased to warn in this way, so when He opens eyes and ears men must pay attention, lest unheeded warnings be followed by chastening with pain upon the bed to arouse them to their danger.
Setting and Wording
The verse stands in Elihu's speech to Job after the argument between Job and his friends closed in chapter 31. Elihu was a younger man who thought his superior wisdom would correct Job, and he followed about the same line as the other friends. His argument in the later chapters tries to convince Job that Job himself is not very great while God is everything. Job makes no answer to his plea, no comment is given upon it, and Elihu was given no answer.
The verse stands in the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37. Those chapters form the third of the four parts of the book of Job. They come after the prologue and the debate between Job and his three friends. They come before the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud.
The verse describes a night vision, a vision received during the night while a person is asleep in bed in deep sleep or slumberings upon the bed. A night vision so received stands in contrast to an open vision. Farther down in earth's history God instructed men not by angels appearing visibly but by speaking in a dream and a vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men. God speaks to men through the nerve of hearing in dreams and night visions when deep sleep falls on them. Such speaking can be God speaking to a person for the first time, addressing him alone and directly through a dream or vision of the night.
Purpose of Night Visions
God speaks to people in dreams and visions of the night, when deep sleep falls upon them in slumberings upon the bed, and this night-speaking is one of His appointed means of instruction. He speaks in this way once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not. In that sleep He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction to them.
That sealing is to withdraw man from his own purpose and to hide pride from him and to turn him from his chosen course. Human purposes are not always in harmony with the mind of God, and pride lying at the bottom of many purposes beclouds the mind so that men cannot reason from cause to effect. That pride would otherwise prove their ruin, so the change wrought is from pride to humility and from man's purpose to God's purpose.
Through this instruction and warning He seeks to keep man back from the pit and from destruction and from death by the sword, to preserve him from ruin, to bring back his soul from the pit, and to lead him toward life enlightened with the light of the living. He does not cast the sinner aside when he is not in suitable condition to hear the first time, but gives him more than one opportunity to turn and have character transformed from earthly to heavenly. He speaks once to show the error of his way and a second time to show the folly of his course, including during sleep.
If those speakings do not change his mind and transform his character, He gives yet another and final opportunity through the voice of pain and the language of disease, just as starch missed by saliva still has probation by pancreatic juice and intestinal juice. When warnings by word and by dreams are unheeded, He permits affliction to speak in a more impressive way, chastening with pain upon the bed and with sickness and severe pain for correction until the body wastes, bones stick out, appetite for bread and dainty meat is lost, and life draws near death. He does this only to arouse man to his danger and to open ears dull of hearing, because every trial is sent to teach truth He tried to teach in prosperity but men failed to learn, and because He seeks to mold and fashion men after the divine similitude, fullness and indulgence having dulled sensitivity to His voice.
The principle is seen in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the tree, where God in love for souls gave both the dream and its interpretation to save the king from carrying out the prideful purpose in his mind. The counsel joined to it was to break off sins by righteousness and iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, which if heeded would have saved him from humiliation to the level of beasts until he acknowledged that the Most High rules and does according to His will. Because men are anxious and busy about many things during the day, like Martha failing to choose the better part, God cannot get their attention, so His school remains open night as well as day. At night He opens ears and seals instruction, making the coming of the evening a time of rejoicing and a season of helpful instruction just as the morning is.
Prophetic Gift and Response
Those instructed in a dream and a vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men in slumberings upon the bed are prophets. Farther down in earth's history men were instructed not by angels appearing visibly but by God speaking in a dream and a vision of the night in that deep sleep. In that sleep He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction. Through the spirit of prophecy He so turns people from their own purposes and hides pride from them.
God has not ceased speaking in this way, and a dream during deep sleep at night may carry a message from Him. Such a dream can serve as a warning rather than being merely the result of confused thoughts. These warnings through dreams and visions are meant to turn people from pride and keep them from destruction. When God opens eyes and ears and shows the danger, the instruction is not to be dismissed but to be heeded with attention.