In this scripture Job says under divine inspiration that sometimes God speaks clearly once or even more than once to people but people don't grasp it or perceive it or understand what God is trying to convey to them. God can speak to people also in dreams or visions, I think the latter where people feel they are more acting out the scenes or content. This occurs in deep sleep or what science nows calls R.E.M. or rapid eye movement sleep. At this time God opens the ears (of the hearts) of men and seals or confirms their instruction (from Him). There are then listed 4 purposes of these types of dreams or visions from God. The first is that God may withdraw man from his purpose which is God warning people in a dream or vision to avoid or refrain from doing something that would be dangerous or ill-advised or that could lead to disaster that they might have been considering going ahead with. To hide pride from man probably means God sending people dreams or visions that keeps them from pride or keeps them humble. He keepeth his soul from the pit means God sometimes sends people dreams or visions to prevent them from going on in their sins or unbelief in Him or in His Son or Messiah Jesus and to prevent them from dying in their sins or in unbelief that would cause them to end up in the pit (hell or the lake of fire). God also sometimes sends people dreams or visions to keep people from perishing by the sword or from an early or untimely or violent death in general. The scripture reference from Job 33 of characteristics of godly dreams or visions sent to people (either saved or unsaved) by God is the following:
For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. Job 33:14-18
Two examples of dreams God gave that would be in the category of Job 33 to hide pride from man which I believe means to bring humility were the dreams God gave Joseph (the son of Jacob who was renamed Israel and was later gloriously used in Egypt). The initial reaction of Joseph's brothers was that they hated him and later envied him because God was treated him in a favoured way in revealing his plans through dreams to Joseph as well. Although this initial reaction wasn't humble but was proud I'm sure when Joseph's brothers and father and mother later went to Egypt to obtain food when Joseph was in control just under Pharoah himself they would remember these dreams which would humble them that it was in God's plans all along for them to exalt their brother or son Joseph and not something that just happened to him. These dreams were fulfilled in Genesis 43:26-28. The dreams were of the one sheaf of grain representing Joseph in the middle standing upright meaning in authority surrounded by 11 other sheaves of grain representing his 11 brothers bowing to his sheaf representing their paying homage or tribute to him as they did when they came before him in Egypt before he revealed himself to them. The sheaves could represent the twelve tribes of Israel as God's primary saved children or part of his harvest of human beings to himself at that time. In the other dream the eleven stars and the sun and moon representing Joseph's eleven brothers who were also the leaders and founders of the other of the 12 tribes of Israel and his father and mother bowed or payed homage to him probably also represented as a star. This also happened for his brothers in Genesis 43 when his brothers bowed or paid tribute to him before he revealed himself and probably also by his father and mother paying tribute to him at least in words when they heard of his other sons paying tribute to the man preserving Egypt's food supplies and for surrounding nations such as Canaan that his sons had met and that was Joseph. The heavenly bodies of Joseph's brothers and parents probably means they are created and have their light from the God of Heaven - the God of the Bible and Creator and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). These dreams are good examples when they were fulfilled in Genesis 43 of dreams sent by God that hid pride from men or brought men to humility and their scripture reference in Genesis 37 is as follows:
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. Genesis 37:5-11
Although this scipture verse doesn't mention what the exact details of this dream God gave to the wise men was, it is clear that in it he warned them not to return to the east by the way they came so they could more easily escape detection from King Herod who sought to king them because they had worshipped Jesus which could also make King Herod jealous of this type of honour he wanted just for himself. In the dream God could have pictured the wise men getting killed by King Herod's forces if they returned the way they came which is perishing by the sword but of getting back safely if they went back to the east another way. They did take heed to the dream and got back safely to their home towns as far as we know. The scripture reference in the Gospel of Matthew 2 of God warning the wise men in a dream to escape perishing by the sword is as follows:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ... And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Gospel of Matthew 2:1-2, 12
One of the other four categories of warning type dreams God is spoken of as giving people in Job 33 is to keep his soul back from the pit. An excellent example of this type of dream is mentioned in Matthew 27:19 where the wife of Pontius Pilate the governor of Judaea had a dream the day of Jesus' trial before her husband that greatly distressed her. Although the contents of this dream aren't disclosed in scripture there was something about it that caused Pontius Pilate's wife to be very fearful of her husband condemning Jesus when she urged him to have nothing to do with him. This could very well mean she saw or heard something in her dream that was almost surely from God in which she witnessed the consequences of her husband Pontius Pilate being condemned by God and sent to a godless eternity of conscious and physical torment in hell if he condemned Jesus. In this dream probably God told her or showed her that Jesus was a just or sinless man and especially for that reason she should urge her husband Pontius Pilate not to condemn and even to justify before the hostile Jewish religious leaders God's Son Jesus Christ the Messiah of Israel in order that Pilate could avoid experiencing God's eternal wrath or to avoid going to the pit. Although this dream of Pilate's wife wasn't to keep her soul from the pit as one of the categories mentioned of God's warning dreams it was almost surely a dream from God meant for her to relay to her husband to warn him not to condemn Jesus and thus keep back his soul from the pit or hell.Also God must have wanted to make his warning to Pilate quite clear in the dream to Pilate's wife because she said she had suffered not just some things but many things in the dream because of Jesus and probably if Pilate sentenced him to death. The scripture reference in Matthew 27 of this dream to Pontius Pilate's wife from God that she relayed to her husband to keep him back from the pit by refraining from condemning the innocent Son of God and Messiah Jesus who he was to try that day under Roman law is as follows:
When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with this just man: for I have suffered many things this day in dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain (two) will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ (Messiah)? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Gospel of Matthew 27:19-24
The apostle Peter even though he was a follower of Jesus was in many ways still a devout Jew under the law. Among other things that the law said for devout Jews was not to have much dealing with the Gentiles or people of the nations and that if they could become God's people at all they had to become Jewish proselytes or converts and keep the Law of Moses. Among other things the Law of Moses stated the Gentiles or people of the nations were unclean or defiled in God's sight because they didn't keep the Jewish dietary laws of the Law of Moses but ate unclean food on a regular basis. Peter's purpose was to continue to insist on the Gentiles becoming God's people according to the Law of Moses and denying them salvation or acceptance as children of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by God's grace alone and faith in Jesus the Messiah or Christ. God then sent this vision to Peter to turn him from his purpose by bringing a sheet with unclean animals or animals the Jews weren't allowed to eat under the Law of Moses and that the Gentiles were accustomed to eating down to him and ordering Peter to kill them and eat them. This was God's way of saying that in the present and almost now finished Church Age or Age of Grace the Gentiles or people or the nations should be accepted also by Jewish believers in Jesus as full children of God without having to keep the Law of Moses but only by trusting in Jesus for salvation and living by the direction of the Holy Spirit. The voice from God in the dream coming twice and the sheet coming down from heaven three times is also an example that God sometimes has to repeat points in a dream to convince us of his message as it is mentioned in Job 33 about dreams God speaks once, yea twice but man perceiveth it not. The scripture reference to God seeking to turn the Apostle Peter from his purpose of continuing to insist the Gentiles keep the Law of Moses and not be saved and justified only by God's grace and faith in Jesus the Messiah or Christ by this vision of God ordering the Apostle Peter to kill and eat the unclean animals is as follows:
On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great white sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common (unholy) or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Acts 10:9-16
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