GOD CHALLENGES JOB JOB 40:1-24

Transcription

1 1 GOD CHALLENGES JOB JOB 40:1-24

2 2 Text: Job 40:1-24, God s Challenges Job 1. Then the Lord said to Job, 2. Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it. 3. Then Job answered the Lord and said, 4. Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5. Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; even twice, and I will add nothing more. 6. Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said, 7. Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. 8. Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9. Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His? 10. Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, and clothe yourself with honor and majesty. 11. Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. 12. Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, and tread down the wicked where they stand. 13. Hide them in the dust together; bind them in the hidden place. 14. Then I will also confess to you, that your own right hand can save you.

3 Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; he eats grass like an ox. 16. Behold now, his strength in his loins and his power in the muscles of his belly. 17. He bends his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18. His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are like bars of iron. 19. He is the first of the ways of God; let his maker bring near his sword. 20. Surely the mountains bring him food, and all the beasts of the field play there. 21. Under the lotus plants he lies down, in the covert of the reeds and the marsh. 22. The lotus plants cover him with shade; the willows of the brook surround him. 23. If a river rages, he is not alarmed; he is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth. 24. Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, with barbs can anyone pierce his nose? (NASB) Commentary: Job 40:1-5, Then the Lord said to Job, Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it. Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; even twice, and I will add nothing more. (NASB)

4 4 As God continues His discourse, He openly challenges Job to engage Him in debate. In v. 2 God identifies Job as the faultfinder and Himself as the Almighty. Job has reproved God as he has defended his integrity. Now that God has entered the discussion, He calls on Job to speak up before Him. It is evident by Job s response that he has been humbled as the Lord God has spoken in the previous chapters. Now, after having heard God speak, Job admits his own insignificance (v. 4), and that he has nothing to add to the discussion (v. 5). The statement, I lay my hand on my mouth, illustrates that Job is no longer willing to speak in his own defense. Job 40:6-9, Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said, Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His? (NASB) In Job 38:1 the scripture says God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind. In Job 40:6 the scripture says God spoke out of the storm. The word storm in Job 40:6 is from the same Hebrew word found in Job 38:1. God, then, continues to manifest Himself in a powerful way as He extends His discourse with Job. We sense a little of God s righteous indignation in vs Even though Job has spoken in humble contrition, God continues to forcefully challenge him. In v. 7 God calls on Job to face God like a man. God will ask Job questions, and then listen as Job instructs Him. The series of questions in vs. 8-9 are worded in such a way that the anticipated answer in each case is No!. Job

5 5 cannot annul God s judgment. Neither can he condemn God in his own defense. Job does not have an arm like God or anything like His power. Job s case is getting weaker by the moment. Job 40:10-14, Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, and clothe yourself with honor and majesty. Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, and tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them in the dust together; bind them in the hidden place. Then I will also confess to you, that your own right hand can save you. (NASB) God s challenges to Job continue in vs He calls on Job to take on the qualities that are reserved only for the Almighty. He invites Job to exercise righteous indignation against the proud and the wicked, even as He Himself does. If Job were able to do these things, then God would admit that Job had the power to save himself. It is obvious, even as God speaks, that Job can do none of these things. For all his integrity and uprightness, Job is, after all, only a man. He possesses neither the intrinsic eminence, majesty, or dignity of God, nor the power to render judgment on the wicked. Job is fully dependent upon God, not only for his life, but for justice with regard to the proud and the wicked. With every question God asks, Job is made more and more aware of vast differences between God and himself. The pride that marked his speeches in defense of his integrity is being beaten into submission as God speaks to Job of things which only He possesses.

6 6 Job 40:15-24, Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold now, his strength in his loins and his power in the muscles of his belly. He bends his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are like bars of iron. He is the first of the ways of God; let his maker bring near his sword. Surely the mountains bring him food, and all the beasts of the field play there. Under the lotus plants he lies down, in the covert of the reeds and the marsh. The lotus plants cover him with shade; the willows of the brook surround him. If a river rages, he is not alarmed; he is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth. Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, with barbs can anyone pierce his nose? (NASB) In vs God describes the first of two magnificent creatures which exemplify God s power and mankind s weakness. The word Behemoth is a transliteration of a Hebrew word that is the plural form of the word beast. This Hebrew word occurs nine times in the Old Testament, but is transliterated only in this place (Truth for Today Commentary, Job, Don Shackleford, p. 474). The reason why it is transliterated in this instance is because it is difficult to identify exactly what creature God was describing. In many of our English translations, a footnote accompanying v. 15 will suggest hippopotamus as an alternative for Behemoth. Some commentators suggest that Behemoth refers to some mythological beast that may or may not have actually existed. Others suggest that Behemoth was some kind of ancient dinosaur, such as Brontosaurus or Brachiosaurus.

7 7 Those who are unwilling to allow for dinosaurs and man to have coexisted on the earth will side with the term hippopotamus. Others, who see this description as poetic hyperbole, will also favor hippopotamus. While the book of Job is poetic in construction, God s discussion of nature and the animals over which He exercises control, has not up to this point employed such a device. It seems questionable that He would do so in this and the ensuing instance. Creationist commentators, on the other hand, take the view that God was describing an actual creature that existed at that time, just as when He described the various creatures in ch. 39. For this reason they have no problem with Behemoth being a large, plant-eating dinosaur, even if we cannot determine which one it was. When the description in vs is considered, it seems more likely that Behemoth was, in fact, such a creature. We particularly take notice of v. 17 where God says Behemoth bends his tail like a cedar. A cedar is a large, stately tree, so it seems reasonable that a creature with a tail like a cedar would have a large, stately tail. The Hippopotamus has no such tail. Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus both had such tails. In a similar way, the description of Behemoth s physical strength seems better fitted to an animal much larger than a hippopotamus (vs. 17, 18). V. 19 calls Behemoth, the first of the ways of God. This suggests that he was preeminent among God s creatures. In other words, there was no other creature quite like him. As hard as we might try, a hippopotamus doesn t seem to fit this description.

8 8 In v. 22 God refers to the lotus plants which cover Behemoth. Some may take this as a reference to the Egyptian water lily, which would hardly conceal a large dinosaur. However, this word more likely refers to a large, thorny tree that was common in the eastern Mediterranean and especially around the Sea of Galilee. In vs the description of Behemoth s confidence in the face of a torrential flood, and of the implied impossibility of capturing and subduing him, add to the probability that he was one of the great plant-eating dinosaurs of antiquity.

9 9 Questions on Job 40: Why does God call Job a faultfinder? (40:2) 2. What indication is there that Job has been humbled by God s discussion? (40:4-5) 3. What is the significance of God s speaking out of the storm? (40:6) 4. How does God challenge Job to face Him in debate? (40:7)

10 How does God make it clear that Job is not His equal? (40:8-14) 6. What is the first of the two great creatures God describes in ch. 40 & ch. 41? (40:15) 7. What description of Behemoth absolutely does not fit a hippopotamus? (40:17) 8. What does he is the first of the ways of God suggest? (40:19)

11 What additional descriptions of Behemoth suggest he was much larger than a hippopotamus, and thus, very likely a dinosaur? (40:23-24)