Explore the Bible Lesson Preview July 14, 2013 What Am I Supposed to Learn? Background: Job 38:1 42:17 Lesson: Job 38:1-4; 42:1-12a Motivation: How do we grow closer to God? Worship should be the culmination of our feelings and facts concerning that closeness. In this study we ll find attitudes that preclude worship as well as attitudes that promote worship. Examination: I. Supremacy (38:1-41:34) Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said: Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me. Where were you when I established the earth? (38: 1-4) Throughout the book Job has called for an opportunity to contend with God, to present his case. Following Elihu s presentation of the majesty of God, Job is silent. Perhaps only when we magnify God and understand His greatness, can God speak to us and teach us. Notice the ground rules: Job must prepare to 1) act like an adult, and 2) answer God s questions (38:3). Chapters 38 & 39 remind us of the difference between God and man. HCSB, p. 868: 38:1 God s speaking to Job from the whirlwind was not from a windstorm such as that which destroyed the house of Job s children (1:18-19) or the winds of judgment (21:18). It was a theophany, a manifestation of God Himself (Ezek 1:4; cp. 2 Kg 2:11). In the book of Job, the divine name Lord (Yahweh) had occurred previously only in the Prologue (it appears in Job s first response to Zophar in Jb. 12:9, though some manuscripts read God ). Although Job may have been upright and he was not suffering because of wrongdoing, his frequent complaints against God were tantamount to assuming the Lord s prerogatives playing God in his life. Job needed to be reminded of who and what the Lord is in order to find Him sufficient for his 1 / 7
situation. A. God is the creator; man is the creature (38:4-7) Where were you when I established the earth? (4) B. God controls the seas; man sails the seas (38:8-11) Your proud waves stop here? (11b) C. God commands the light and man benefits from light (38:12-15) Have you ever in your life commanded the morning? (12) D. God conquers death; man is consumed by death (38:17) Have the gates of death been revealed to you? E. God charts the weather and stars; man can only admire His handiwork (38:22-38) Psalm 19 C an you fasten the chains of the Pleides or loosen the belt of Orion? (31) Astronomy is an ancient science! F. God comprehends all nature; man is a part of nature (38:39-39:30) Does the hawk take flight by your understanding? (39:26) G. God creates the rules; man is to obey Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? (40:2). In 40:1-2 God reminds Job that he wanted to contend with the Almighty to rebuke Him. (Rom. 11:33-36, Jer. 18-19, esp. 18:2). What can finite man hope to understand of God s infinite wisdom? H. God clarifies the questions as well as the answers I am so insignificant, how can I 2 / 7
answer You? (40:4) In contrast to the long dissertations Job had previously used in reply, he is now brief. When reminded of God s greatness and his smallness, Job could only admit his ignorance. I. God contends; man submits (40:6 41:34) In these verses God uses two word pictures that help Job realize that far greater issues are at stake than his questions: Would you really challenge My justice? (40:8). 1. Look at the Behemoth (40:15) HCSB, p. 872: 40:15 Some have identified Behem oth as some kind of mythological beast, such as the bull of heaven in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh or the ferocious bullock, the Ugaritic goddess that Anat defeated. Allusions to mythological creatures had been made previously (3:8; 7:12; 9:13-14; 26:12-13), but the description here favors a living animal known to Job. The buffalo, a dinosaur, the rhinoceros, and (most often) the hippopotamus have been suggested. The term behemoth occurs elsewhere only in Ps. 73:22 where the psalmist compared his formerly embittered soul to a brute beast. 2. Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie his tongue down with a rope? Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? (41:1) HCSB, p. 873: 41 :1 Leviathan has been identified by interpreters as a whale, shark, dinosaur, sea monster, and a crocodile. For its mythological association, see notes at 3:8-9; 7:12. In ancient Egypt the crocodile could symbolize royal power, yet it was a hunted animal. 41:2-4 God s challenge indicates that Job would be unable to hunt and subdue Leviathan unaided. In the ancient Near East, stronger nations imposed treaty obligations on a weaker state. Fierce Leviathan would neither petition Job for such a covenant arrangement nor ask to be his perpetual slave. (Ex. 21:5-6; Dt. 15:16-17). II. Submission (42:1-6) 3 / 7
Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance? Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform Me. HCSB, p. 874-75: 42:1-2 Job confessed God s rightful sovereignty over all matters, including his situation. He had questioned God s actions previously (16: 12-14). God s speeches about His ordering of the world caused Job s capitulation. 42:3 Job had questioned the equity and justice of God s dealings (7:20; 21:7-34). God s wise handling of the physical and natural worlds convinced him that, though he may have committed no overt sin, he had dabbled in questions beyond his understanding and experience. 42:4-5 Job now understood something of God s justice and wise dealings with the strongest of creatures. Although Job had previously considered himself to be upright, he confessed that he had been influenced by traditional but errant understandings (15:17-19; 16:2). By saying he now saw God, he meant that he had experienced God s presence and understood Him better. III. Job s Restoration (42:7 17) A. Job s Friends Judgment. Having reprimanded Job s attitude, God now judges Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar s actions. God s judgment of the friends was harsh because they misrepresented Him. The seriousness of their error is shown by the large sacrifice required. (8) While they judged Job without mercy throughout the book, now they must look to Job for mercy as their intercessor. (10) 1. Job s Friends Believed in Justification by Works - Their wisdom was based on a retributive principle of suffering: if we do right we ll be blessed; if we do wrong, we ll be punished. While the principle of sowing and reaping is a fact of life, our relationship with God is based on faith, not works. (Eph. 2:8-10) 2. Job s Friends Were Not Willing to Learn More of God - When faced with new facts (Job s righteous suffering), they were not willing to grow in their knowledge of God. They were content to keep God in their small box of beliefs. (2 Thes. 1:3; 2 Pet. 3:17-18) 3. Job s Friends Refused to Temper Justice with Mercy - Perhaps the one issue most repugnant to God was the wise men s arrogant, unmerciful attitude. God s nature is love; 4 / 7
when faced with an unrepentant Jerusalem, Jesus wept. The only people Jesus could not get along with were those who were smug in their own righteousness. (Micah 6:8; Isa 64:6; Matt. 5:20; Heb. 11:6) B. Job s Justification The Lord restored his prosperity and doubled his previous possessions (42:10). HCSB, p. 875: 42:10 Job s restoration was complete. Because he was now pure in his attitude toward God and had demonstrated spiritual maturity toward his friends, the Lord accepted him into full fellowship. The doubled possessions (v. 12) reflect God s full acceptance of Job as His own (Dt. 21:17; 2 Kg. 2:9). Not only had Job found God to be sufficient for his every need, but Satan had been proved wrong. He had remained blameless throughout his long ordeal (Jb. 27:4-6; 28:28). Although he had questioned God s dealing with him (10:18-21; 27:2) and had even accused the Lord of attacking him (13:20-27; 16:12-14; 23:2), he did not curse God as Satan had predicted he would (1:11; 2:5) or as his wife had urged him to do (2:9). In this at least, Job proved to be exemplary (Jms. 5:11). By remembering Job s suffering and its outcome, believers can be encouraged to rejoice in times of their trial and testing (Jms. 1:2-4; 1 Pt. 1:6-7). Rather than complaining or doubting God, they can humbly trust in God and His sufficiency so that Satan will not be given any advantage over them (1 Pt. 5:6-9). Application: 1. Worship truly begins when we recognize God s majesty, our relative insignificance, and His complete control and power. 2. Worship climaxes in faith, confession and repentance. 3. Worship is thwarted by attitudes of self-sufficiency, smugness, pride, or an unforgiving spirit. (2 Cor. 3:5) Leader Pack Item 11: Worksheet: Intercessory Prayer Plan Biblical Illustrator: p. 59, Repentance in the Book of Job 5 / 7
**You may access David s Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: www.hfbcbiblestudy.org Dates: 5/30-8/1 MetroLIVE in worship center; 6/5 7/3 HUB Summer Rush; 6/22 Men: Serve; 6/ 24-28 VBS; 7/4 Holiday, church offices closed; 7/6 Men: Pray; 7/7-11 Houston Project; 7/17 RUSH Rally/Prayer time; 7/15-19 SWOC; 7/20-27 RUSH Week, Branson; 7/22-26 - Unique Student Ministry Conf.; 7/26 Family Mission Trip; 7/31 Summer Celebration, students; 8/2-3 Milestone: Adolescence Welcome to 6 th grade; 8/3 New 6 th Grade parents Milestone; 8/3 Inspirational Writers Conf.; 8/10 Children s Ministry Summit; 8/16 Hunt Retreat Grand Opening; 8/18 BIG Sunday Students; 8/19 FBA Orientation; 6 / 7
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