Job 18:9-10

9 The gin [pach] shall take ['achaz] him by the heel [`aqeb], and the robber [tsammiym] shall prevail [chazaq] against him.

10 The snare [chebel] is laid [taman] for him in the ground ['erets], and a trap [malkodeth] for him in the way [nathiyb]. KJV-Interlinear

9 'A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him. 10 'A noose for him is hidden in the ground, And a trap for him on the path. NASB

All of the vocabulary of Bildad in this chapter, speaks of trapping wild animals. This is one of many passages where we get the term, jungle, for our Bible study. For the world without God, is a jungle, and in the jungle, the jungle laws apply and those jungle laws favor no one.

The jungle is a world of its own. The weak and the foolish are the prey, and the strong and the smart are the predators. But sooner or later all that are strong and witty, become the prey and fall as all victims fall in the jungle.

Yesterdays study saw all of humanity well aware of his environment, and yet rejecting doctrine, or rejecting truth, will walk right into the traps of the world.

Now we have the nature of those traps.

When man or beast goes hunting, they do it intentionally. They set traps intentionally. Those traps have but one purpose, and that is to catch their prey. Back in Jobs day, the purpose of catching prey was to kill it. Its use could be for food, for clothing, or just to get rid of a nuisance.

And that connotation is carried through in this passage.

The world has many traps in it. Their purpose is to distract you from truth, to destroy your life, to kill you spiritually. Lack of truth has no other purpose.

Satan is the father of lies, the first murderer, the first thief, the first trap setter. He fooled Eve in the Garden, and he has launched his attack against Job. Satan began with arrogance and everything went downhill from there.

The world has many types of traps. There are traps that spring suddenly. There are traps that catch the feet or arms or legs. There are traps that catch the neck. There are traps that are hidden in the trees, and dug into the ground. There are traps that are made up of netting, of branches, or many components designed to capture their intended victim. There are even traps into which the prey is driven by organized hunting parties. And remember, man is not the only one who hunts in this world.

All of these traps in Jobs day, did not have the convenience or sophistication of our modern technology, yet their traps were very effective for their purpose, back then.

Traps have been around for a very long time. And with humanity, at least since the Garden.

Today, traps are ever present. In fact they surround you all of your life. Whether you are the victim of stress, of crime, of a liberal media, of marketing, or whatever, you are the victim none the less. The jungle is desperate to get you distracted from Bible doctrine.

Truth is the big enemy of the world, and the world has to make you hurt because of life's difficulties, or lustful because of the many things that you want to have, or possess, or experience, or to doubt because of the slowness with which time seems to pass. The world intends to confuse you with innumerable beliefs and views on life. The world will try to make everything unimportant, relevant and subjective, and everything important and objective, irrelevant.

And, if the world can get you to concentrate on everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel, and totally off of Bible doctrine, then you have fallen into its trap. The trap, which was laid with only one purpose - to destroy you spiritually.

Life in this world is not all that there is. Life goes on forever into eternity. Your few decades in this world, are only your training ground for the next phase of your life, your eternal phase. And your eternal phase will go on forever.

Whatever you can accomplish in this life, take that and multiply it by infinity, and then multiply it again by infinity, and that is what you may be losing if you focus on this world. Your could be losing treasure beyond imagination, and more.

Truth begins with salvation through faith in Christ. Being saved is infinitely greater than no salvation and the Lake of Fire. Truth continues with spiritual growth to maturity. The blessings of spiritual maturity are infinitely greater than the blessings of no spiritual growth.

Truth receives blessings. Lack of truth receives nothing. It is just that simple.

Just as life's traps are simple but effective, so too is the spiritual life. It is a gift from God, and very easy to obtain. In fact you really have to work at it to reject truth.

Conscious choice can be your greatest ally or your greatest enemy. In the end you are your own best friend or your own worst enemy. You won't have any excuses when your life in this world, is finally over.

Now is the time to post a prayer.