GOD SPEAKS TO JOB JOB 38:1-41

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 GOD SPEAKS TO JOB JOB 38:1-41

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: Job 38:1-41, God Speaks Now to Job 1. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 2. Who is this that darkens counsel by words without know-ledge? 3. Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! 4. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5. Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6. On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7. When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8. Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; 9. When I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10. And I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors, 11. And I said, Thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop? 12. Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13. That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 14. It is changed like clay under the seal; and they stand forth like a garment. 15. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the uplifted arm is broken. 16. Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17. Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18. Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19. Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, 20. That you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? 21. You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 22. Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23. Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle? 24. Where is the way that the light is divided, or the east wind scattered on the earth? 25. Who has cleft a channel for the flood, or a way for the thunderbolt, 26. To bring rain on a land without people, on a desert without a man in it, 27. To satisfy the waste and desolate land and to make the seeds of grass to sprout? 28. Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29. From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 30. Water becomes hard like stone, and the surface of the deep is imprisoned. 31. Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? 32. Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites? 33. Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or fix their rule over the earth? 34. Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of water will cover you? 35. Can you send forth lightnings that they may go and say to you, Here we are? 36. Who has put wisdom in the innermost being or given understanding to the mind? 37. Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or tip the water jars of the heavens, 38. When the dust hardens into a mass and the clods stick together? 39. Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40. When they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in their lair? 41. Who prepares for the raven its nourishment when its young cry to God and wander about without food? (NASB) Commentary: Job 38:1-7, Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (NASB) From chapter 3 through chapter 37 Job and his friends have engaged in a vigorous discussion of what happened to Job. Throughout this series of speeches and rebuttals God has remained silent. He has allowed each of these men to express his own thoughts freely. Job has asserted his integrity throughout, even though his friends remain unconvinced of his innocence. Strong words have been uttered on both sides and we sense that God finally says, Enough! It is interesting that although all five men (Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu) had spoken their peace during this discussion, when the Lord God finally responded, He addressed Himself solely to Job. It is also interesting to notice that God did not directly answer the many questions that Job had raised as he defended his integrity before his friends. Instead, God asked a series of rhetorical questions that neither condemned nor humiliated Job, as Job s friends surely must have expected. When God finishes His response, Job is vindicated, but not before he has been humbled by the majesty and power of Almighty God. In vs. 2-3 God introduces His response by challenging Job s knowledge and wisdom. Who is this is addressed to Job, and God plainly asserts that Job is without knowledge. He then invites Job to gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 you, and you instruct Me! With this the gauntlet is thrown down and God proceeds to ask the rhetorical questions that Job cannot answer. Vs. 4-7 speak of the creation of the world. It was God who laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning. It was God who laid the cornerstone of the universe, and it was His angels who shouted for joy when He did so. God asks where Job was when He did these mighty works. The answer is obvious. Job was not there, and was not involved in creation. Therefore, how can he question God as he had done? Job 38:8-11, Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors, And I said, Thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop? (NASB) God continues His references to the creation in vs. 8-11, specifically asking Job about the sea. In Genesis 1:9-10, the scripture says that God commanded the waters that covered the earth to be gathered into one place and the dry land to appear. As He responds to Job, God simply asks who accomplished this feat. The obvious answer is that it was God who did it. God set the boundaries for the seas on the third day of creation. Job wasn t there any more than he was when God laid the foundations of the earth. (Genesis 1:9-10, Then God said, Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear ; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. (NASB))

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 Job 38:12-15, Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and cased the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? It is changed like clay under the seal; and they stand forth like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the uplifted arm is broken. (NASB) God continues to relate His mighty power in vs. 12-15. He asks Job if he has ever commanded the day to dawn and the darkness to be dispelled. The transition from daylight to darkness to daylight again is the function of God Almighty. God not only controls physical day and night, but He brings to light all the darkness that lies within mankind. No man has such power, not even one as godly as Job. Job 38:16-18, Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. (NASB) Step by step God delves into deeper and deeper expressions of His power. He asks if Job has seen the springs of the sea or walked in its depths. He asks if Job can fathom the nature of death or fully grasp the intricacies of the earth. Of course, Job had not plumbed the depths of the sea. Neither was he able to comprehend the complexities of God s creation, or the mysteries of death. No man could do so. Even today, with all the advances of science and technology, we are woefully ignorant of our earth, and death is still beyond our comprehension.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 Jog 38:19-24, Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, That you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle? Where is the way that the light is divided, or the east wind scattered on the earth? (NASB) In vs. 19-24 God uses irony to emphasize the limitations of Job s knowledge and wisdom. As God asks questions about the source of light and darkness, or the origin of snow and hail, or the means by which the wind is dispersed on the earth, He challenges Job to respond since Job was there when God set these things in place. Job, of course, was not there, and he knew it very well. These things were a mystery to Job, even as they are still today, and Job could not respond to God s challenge. Job 38:25-30, Who has cleft a channel for the flood, or a way for the thunderbolt, To bring rain on a land without people, on a desert without a man in it, To satisfy the waste and desolate land and to make the seeds of grass to sprout? Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? Water becomes hard like stone, and the surface of the deep is imprisoned. (NASB)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 Next, God speaks of aspects of nature with which Job would have been very familiar. The rain, the lightning bolt, floods, and the dew that feed the ground and cause plant life to grow are all the workings of God, not man, and certainly not of Job. Likewise, God alone is the source of ice and frost. He is the one who causes the surface of water to freeze in winter weather. Although God speaks of these things in questions, the manner of His questions indicates that these are in fact declarations of power that belongs only to Him. Job 38:31-33, Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or fix their rule over the earth? (NASB) In vs. 31-33 God speaks of His control of the stars and the constellations that fill the night sky. Can Job bind the Pleiades, or loose Orion? Can he guide Ursa (the Bear)? Can he control the workings of the universe? Of course Job cannot, and Job knows this. By the way, several of God s questions in this section refer to things that are scientifically factual in every way. Some of these things were not discovered by modern scientists for more than two millennia after the events in Job. The Bible is not a book of science, but when it speaks of scientific things, it does so accurately. God was the one speaking in this instance, so there is no question that He would speak accurately of these things. Job 38:34-38, Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of water will cover you? Can you send

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 forth lightnings that they may go and say to you, Here we are? Who has put wisdom in the innermost being or given understanding to the mind? Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or tip the water jars of the heavens, When the dust hardens into a mass and the clods stick together? (NASB) God continues His discourse with a primer on the rain. His questions to Job are again worded in such a way as to elicit a negative response. Job cannot summon the rain and command it to fall upon the parched earth. It is God who does so, and God alone. Likewise, it is God who gives understanding to the mind (v. 36), something at this point that is becoming abundantly clear that Job and his friends do not possess. Job 38:39-41, Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in their lair? Who prepares for the raven its nourishment when its young cry to God and wander about without food? (NASB) Chapter 38 ends with a transition to the nature of animal life on the earth. This discourse will continue in ch. 39. In vs. 39-41 God challenges Job with regard to lions and ravens. Does Job provide food for these creatures? Of course he does not. God feeds them and knows their ways.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 11 Questions on Job 38:1-41 1. What is God s view of Job, and what does He challenge Job to do? (38:2, 3) 2. How does God demonstrate His mastery over the sea? (38:8-11) 3. How does God s mastery over the dawn and the dark show His power over the wicked? (38:12-15)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 12 4. How does God illustrate Job s limitations using the sea and death? (38:16-18) 5. How does God use irony against Job as He speaks of the origin of light, darkness, snow, hail, and the parting of the east wind? (38:19-24) 6. What is God s power over the rain, lightning, floods, dew and ice? (38:25-28) 7. What scientifically accurate statement does God make about ice and the freezing of a body of water? (38:29-30)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 13 8. Which constellations did God name to show His power over the stars of the universe? (38:31-33) 9. Who commands the rain and the lightning, and who gives wisdom and understanding to the mind? (38:34-38) 10. Who alone provides for the lions and the ravens? (38:39-41)