Job 29:6
when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
when my steps were bathed in cream
The imagery of "steps bathed in cream" evokes a sense of abundance and prosperity. In the Hebrew text, the word for "cream" is "חֶמְאָה" (chemah), which can also be translated as "butter." This suggests a time of richness and ease in Job's life, where his path was smooth and his needs were abundantly met. In ancient Near Eastern culture, cream or butter was a luxury, symbolizing wealth and favor. This phrase reflects Job's past blessings and the divine favor he experienced, highlighting a period when his life was marked by God's provision and grace.

and the rock poured out for me streams of oil
The "rock" in this context symbolizes strength and stability, often associated with God Himself in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Hebrew word "צוּר" (tsur) for "rock" conveys a sense of enduring strength and reliability. The imagery of a rock pouring out "streams of oil" is both miraculous and symbolic. Oil, in biblical times, was a valuable commodity used for anointing, healing, and as a source of light. The phrase suggests an extraordinary provision from an unexpected source, emphasizing God's supernatural ability to provide and bless. This reflects Job's remembrance of a time when God's blessings flowed abundantly and unexpectedly, reinforcing the theme of divine favor and the richness of God's provision in his life.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. Job is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith.

2. Uz
The land where Job lived. It is often associated with the region east of Israel, possibly in Edom or northern Arabia.

3. Job's Prosperity
The period in Job's life when he experienced great wealth, respect, and blessings, which he reflects upon in this chapter.
Teaching Points
God's Provision
Job 29:6 highlights a time of divine blessing and provision. Reflect on how God provides for His people, even in times of abundance and scarcity.

Gratitude in Prosperity
Job's reflection on his past prosperity encourages us to be grateful for the blessings we receive and to acknowledge God's hand in our success.

The Transience of Earthly Wealth
Job's account reminds us that material wealth is temporary. Our ultimate security should be in God, not in our possessions.

Faithfulness in All Seasons
Job's life teaches us to remain faithful to God, whether in times of abundance or suffering, trusting in His sovereign plan.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's description of his past prosperity in Job 29:6 challenge our understanding of wealth and God's blessings?

2. In what ways can we cultivate a heart of gratitude for God's provision, as seen in Job's reflection on his past?

3. How does the imagery of "steps bathed in cream" and "streams of oil" relate to other biblical descriptions of God's abundance?

4. What lessons can we learn from Job's life about maintaining faithfulness to God during both prosperous and difficult times?

5. How can we apply the principle of trusting in God's provision, as illustrated in Job 29:6, to our current life circumstances?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 23
This Psalm, like Job 29:6, uses imagery of abundance and divine provision, illustrating God's care and blessings.

Deuteronomy 32:13
This verse speaks of God providing for Israel, similar to the imagery of oil and abundance in Job 29:6.

Proverbs 3:10
This verse promises that honoring God will lead to abundance, echoing the prosperity Job experienced.
A Mournful Reflection Upon a Happy PastR. Green Job 29:1-25
Wistful Retrospect of Past Happy DaysE. Johnson Job 29:1-25
People
Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Bathed, Beside, Butter, Cream, Drenched, Firm, Flowing, Goings, Milk, Oil, Olive, Poured, Rivers, Rivulets, Rock, Steps, Streams, Washed, Washing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 29:6

     4488   oil

Job 29:4-6

     4492   olive

Library
Comfort for the Desponding
At once to the subject. A complaint; its cause and cure; and then close up with an exhortation to stir up your pure minds, if you are in such a position. I. First, there is a COMPLAINT. How many a Christian looks on the past with pleasure, on the future with dread, and on the present with sorrow! There are many who look back upon the days that they have passed in the fear of the Lord as being the sweetest and the best they have ever had, but as to the present, it is clad in a sable garb of gloom
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Job's Regret and Our Own
I. Let us begin by saying, that regrets such as those expressed in the text are and ought to be very BITTER. If it be the loss of spiritual things that we regret, then may we say from the bottom of our hearts, "Oh that I were as in months past." It is a great thing for a man to be near to God; it is a very choice privilege to be admitted into the inner circle of communion, and to become God's familiar friend. Great as the privilege is, so great is the loss of it. No darkness is so dark as that which
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Case of Spiritual Decay and Languor in Religion
1. Declension in religion, and relapses into sin, with their sorrowful consequences, are in the general too probable.--2. The ease of declension and langour in religion described, negatively.--3. And positively.--4. As discovering itself by a failure in the duties of the closet.--5. By a neglect of social worship.--6. By want of love to our fellow Christians.--7. By an undue attachment to sensual pleasures or secular cares.--8. By prejudices against some important principles in religion.--9,10. A
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Case of the Christian under the Hiding of God's Face.
1. The phrase scriptural.--2. It signifies the withdrawing the tokens of the divine favor.--3 chiefly as to spiritual considerations.--4. This may become the case of any Christian.--5. and will be found a very sorrowful one.--6. The following directions, therefore, are given to those who suppose it to be their own: To inquire whether it be indeed a case of spiritual distress, or whether a disconsolate frame may not proceed from indisposition of body,--7. or difficulties as to worldly circumstances.--8,
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Blessedness of Giving
"Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase, so shalt thy barns be filled with plenty." "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it lendeth to poverty." "The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that
Various—The Wonders of Prayer

Oh that I were as in Months Past! Job 29:02:00

John Newton—Olney Hymns

Field Hymns.
Hymns of the hortatory and persuasive tone are sufficiently numerous to make an "embarrassment of riches" in a compiler's hands. Not a few songs of invitation and awakening are either quoted or mentioned in the chapter on "Old Revival Hymns," and many appear among those in the last chapter, (on the Hymns of Wales;) but the working songs of Christian hymnology deserve a special space as such. "COME HITHER ALL YE WEARY SOULS," Sung to "Federal St.," is one of the older soul-winning calls from
Theron Brown—The Story of the Hymns and Tunes

How a Desolate Man Ought to Commit Himself into the Hands of God
O Lord, Holy Father, be Thou blessed now and evermore; because as Thou wilt so it is done, and what Thou doest is good. Let Thy servant rejoice in Thee, not in himself, nor in any other; because Thou alone art the true joy, Thou art my hope and my crown, Thou art my joy and my honour, O Lord. What hath Thy servant, which he received not from Thee, even without merit of his own? Thine are all things which Thou hast given, and which Thou hast made. I am poor and in misery even from my youth up,(1)
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Fifth Commandment
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' Exod 20: 12. Having done with the first table, I am next to speak of the duties of the second table. The commandments may be likened to Jacob's ladder: the first table respects God, and is the top of the ladder that reaches to heaven; the second respects superiors and inferiors, and is the foot of the ladder that rests on the earth. By the first table, we walk religiously towards God; by
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Properties of Sanctifying Grace
By a property (proprium, {GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND OXIA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON}{GREEK SMALL LETTER NU}) we understand a quality which, though not part of the essence of a thing, necessarily flows from that essence by some sort of causation and is consequently found in all individuals of the same species.(1155) A property, as such, is opposed to an accident (accidens, {GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON}{GREEK
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

May one Lose the Blessing?
The question trembles from many a lip--If I get the blessing, may I lose it? Most certainly. But, glory be to God! He has made ample provision for failure. There is no reason why we should fail; God has made ample provision against failure; we must not expect to fail; but in case we do fail, provision has been made. The most prolific cause of loss is disobedience--disobedience either to one of God's written commands, or to the inward promptings of His Holy Spirit. "The Holy Ghost whom God hath
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

No Sorrow Like Messiah's Sorrow
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold, and see, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow! A lthough the Scriptures of the Old Testament, the law of Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophecies (Luke 24:44) , bear an harmonious testimony to MESSIAH ; it is not necessary to suppose that every single passage has an immediate and direct relation to Him. A method of exposition has frequently obtained [frequently been in vogue], of a fanciful and allegorical cast [contrivance], under the pretext
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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