Job 40 Verses 6 to 9, 15 to 19, Job 41 Verses 1 to 7, 10-11, Job 42 Verses 1 to 6 When Answers are Not Enough September 18, 2022
Job Praise Him in the Storm • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsTo understand that by humbling ourselves we can get back on path to restoration in our right relationship with God.
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Job 40 Verses 6 to 9, 15 to 19, Job 41 Verses 1 to 7, 10-11, Job 42 Verses 1 to 6 When Answers are Not Enough September 18, 2022
Class Presentation Notes AAAA
Background Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Isaiah 6:5
Study Aim: To understand that by humbling ourselves we can get back on the path to restoration in our right relationship with God.
Create Interest: The Ministry of Suffering; excerpt from George W. Truett
1897-1944.
· For one thing, trouble, if rightly used, enables us to honor God. Trouble, then, is a trust, and we are so to receive it. We understand about other things being trusts. There is the man of education; he must answer for those superior attainments. There is the one who can sing so that hearts are enchanted by the music; that singer must answer for that gift. There is the man of money, and the man of money must answer for it. The men who make money must answer for that capacity. Whatever our gifts or capacities, all of them are to be received as trusts from God, to be used in His name, to help humanity. Now, along with other trusts comes trouble. Trouble is to be received, however it comes, as a trust, and we are to bear it, we are to meet it, we are to go through it, we are to face it like we ought, as a trust from God, to be used for the glory of His great name.
· …. No matter what the trouble is, mind how you behave. Many a man has dishonored God when trouble came. No matter what the trouble is, no matter what brought it, no matter who brought it, no matter how it came about, God is dishonored if a Christian does not bear his fiery trial like he ought to bear it. You are being tested for God, and you will dishonor Him egregiously, or you will honor Him gloriously, according to your behavior when trouble is on. Remember that.
· Soak on that wisdom, Pilgrims, and join in Job’s revelation after his encounter with God in this, our next to last lesson in Job😊
Lesson in Historical Context:
· When people read Job 40, they are usually drawn to the latter half of the chapter which talks about a creature called “behemoth.” They wonder what is this creature? The Hebrew word is translated “hippopotamus.” This seems to be the main consensus of Bible scholars as its meaning and its description in this passage. Some, however, feel it might be some kind of dinosaur.
· What caught my attention in this chapter, however, was the conversation that took place at its beginning. Let me ask, “Have you ever heard or made statements like these?”
* I should not have said that.
* I’ve already said too much!
* I think I better keep my mouth shut from here on out.
* Uh oh, why did I say that?
· This is where we find Job. God has been speaking to Job. The Lord acknowledged the fact that Job had been arguing or finding fault with Him. So the Lord asked Job if he was going to give instructions to Him and teach Him a few things. He asked, “What pointers do you have for me Job?”
· The next part is funny to me. I think Job realizes he has put his foot in his mouth big time! Somebody said, “An open mouth has a tendency to invite a foot. Keep your mouth shut and you will never put your foot in it. Breathe through your nose, for it keeps the mouth shut.”
o Mark Twain said, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid, than to open it and remove all doubt.”
· Job confesses his vileness or insignificance to the Lord. This is an important turning point in Job’s attitude. He realized his own puniness and smallness. By humbling himself, he would get back on the path of restoration and victory in his life. The same holds true for you. When you realize how little you are and how big God is, it will turn your life around for the better. It will create an attitude of dependence upon the Lord that will replace an attitude of independence from Him. We are nothing without the Lord.
o John 15:5—I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
· Job said, “What am I going to tell you Lord? I am going to put my hand over my mouth and keep it shut! I am not going to say anything else!” Job knew he had put his foot in his mouth. Can you relate to him? I can and believe me shoe leather doesn’t taste very good. It is no fun to put your foot in your mouth, yet, we continue to do it all the time when we are resolved to never do it again.
Thoughts to soak on before getting into the verse study.
· So how does this keep happening to us? What causes a person to put his foot in his mouth? That’s what we are going to deal with in this important message.
· It is important because when we put our feet in our mouths, the consequences tend to be very destructive and lasting.
o We hurt people deeply.
o We may create conflicts that may last for years or may never be resolved.
o We may damage our marriage or a close friendship.
o We might lose our job or our influence and credibility with others, especially our family.
o We might break a trust that can never be regained.
· As you can see, this is an important matter. Perhaps, this is why we are urged repeatedly to be careful about what we say.[1]
· Let’s move on with our lesson through this chopped up collection of verses and find the love and wisdom God desires for us to find today.😊
Bible Study:
Job 40:6-9 (NASB)
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?
· Vs. 6: Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the storm; This speech is addressed particularly to Job, not only because he is the principal personage referred to in the book, but particularly because he had indulged in language of murmuring and complaint.
o It is the purpose of God, in his dealings with his people, to bring them to a proper state of mind before he appears as their vindicator and friend, and hence their trials are often prolonged, and when He appears, He seems at first to come only to rebuke them. Job had indulged in very improper feelings, and it was needful that those feelings should be subdued before God would manifest Himself as his friend and address him in words of consolation.
o The storm—probably that which Elihu had seen approaching, Chap. 37:21–24. God is often represented as speaking to men in this manner. He spoke amidst lightnings and tempests on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:16–19), and he is frequently represented as appearing amidst the thunders and lightnings of a tempest, as a symbol of his majesty; comp. Ps. 18:9–13; Hab. 3:3–6. The word here rendered whirlwind means rather a storm, a tempest. The LXX. render this verse, “After Elihu had ceased speaking, the Lord spoke to Job from a tempest and clouds.”
· Vs. 7: Gird up thy loins now like a man. An expression taken from the ancient mode of dress. That was a loose, flowing robe, which was secured by a girdle when travelling, or when one entered upon anything requiring energy. The meaning here is, “Prepare thyself for the highest effort that can be made. Put forth all your strength and explain to me what will now be said;” comp. Isa. 41:21.
o I will demand of thee. Heb. “I will ask of thee.” That is, I will submit some questions to you to be answered.
o And you instruct me. Heb. “Cause me to know.” That is, furnish a satisfactory answer to these inquiries, so as to show that you understand the subject. The object is to appeal to the proofs of divine wisdom, and to show that the whole subject was far above human comprehension.[2]
· Vs. 8-9: The Lord was directly confronting Job about his former questions and accusations against God. Remember, Job felt that God was treating him unjustly by allowing him to suffer so much in so brief a time: the loss of all ten of his children and his entire estate as well as being afflicted with a very painful and possibly terminal disease. To put it simply, Job believed that God was mistreating him, that God was …unfair, in the wrong, discriminating against him
· The reasoning behind Job’s argument seemed very logical to him. He truly believed in God and lived a righteous life, doing the very best he could. In fact, as far as Job knew, he was not guilty of any deliberate sin. There was no known sin, no unconfessed sin, in his life. He was completely innocent and righteous before God. Therefore, he honestly could not understand why God would allow him—one of his followers, a true believer—to suffer so tragically.
· From Job’s perspective, the agony and pain seemed to be excessive and undeserved.
o Job also questioned God’s fairness and justice in dealing with the wicked. He had trouble comprehending why God allowed the wicked to do so much evil within society, including his own community. Recall how Job’s own community rejected him and the wicked mocked his fallen condition, yet apparently no one stood up for Job or tried to stop the injustice.
o Job thought that God should stop the evil behavior of the wicked and execute justice against them much sooner than was evident in day-to-day life.
o In all this, note how Job was discrediting God’s method of justice. He was denouncing the way God …was allowing him to suffer, was allowing the wicked to go unpunished in this life
· Job was, in essence, condemning the way God was handling his life. In Job’s mind, he deserved far better treatment than the wicked, yet so many of the wicked were still healthy and prospering in this life. This dear believer felt that his idea of fairness and justice was superior to God’s idea of what was fair and just. But Job’s questions and accusations against God were wrong. They were a very serious offense in God’s eyes. Therefore, God rebuked him.
· The Lord asked another piercing question: Was Job’s arm as strong as God’s, and could Job’s voice thunder and cause things to happen like God’s? Of course, the answer was no. For any person to claim to be as strong as God or to have a thunderous voice that can create things is absolutely foolish.[3]
Job 40:15-19 (NASB)
15 "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.
· Vs. 15 Behemoth, like Job, is God’s creation, and both are servants of God. Endowed with a hearty appetite, this huge beast cuts great swaths through a grassy plain. It can devour an entire field of grain, impoverishing a village.
· Vs. 16 Although some (e.g., Pope) find here a reference to its virility, the dominant theme is the animal’s strength, which is legendary. Its mighty loins (considered the seat of strength, e.g., Deut. 33:11; Ps. 69:24 [Eng. 23]; Nah. 2:2 [Eng. 1]) and the massive muscles of its belly witness to its unusual might.
· Vs. 17 Curious features of this animal are noted. Its tail, which is short, hairless, and thick at the base, is likened to a cedartree, a symbol of majestic power (cf. Ezek. 17:22–24; 31:1–18). Fohrer thinks it refers to the thickness of the base of the tail. But the smallness of its tail in relationship to its huge body makes the comparison of its tail to a cedar seem absurd.
· Vs. 18, 19 This solidly constructed beast is the first of God’s ways (cf. Prov. 8:22),i.e., the crown of the animal creation.
o Because Yahweh is its Maker, its power and greatness do not exist in opposition to him.
o In contrast to mythical thought Yahweh did not have to defeat Behemoth to gain control over the forces of chaos.
o Rather Behemoth obeyed him from the first moment of its origin. In addition, its imposing form bears witness to the majesty of its Creator.
§ Unafraid, Yahweh can approach Behemoth with his sword. Such an act symbolizes his complete mastery of this beast.[4]
Job 41:1-7 (NASB)
1 "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 "Can you put a rope in his nose Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 "Will he make many supplications to you, Or will he speak to you soft words?
4 "Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever?
5 "Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you bind him for your maidens?
6 "Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 "Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?
· The word “leviathan” is the transliteration of a Hebrew word, the root of which means “to twist, to writhe.” People used the word to describe the “sea monsters” that were supposed to inhabit the Mediterranean. Psalm 104:25–26may refer to whales or dolphins. The Jews used the word to describe their enemies (Isa. 27:1), especially Egypt (Ps. 74:13–14). Revelation 12:9 refers to Satan as “that old serpent.” In mythology, the leviathan was a many-headed monster that ruled the waters and feared no man.
· “Can you capture the leviathan?” asked the Lord. “And if you can, what will you do with him?” Well, what can you do with a captured crocodile? You can’t make a pet out of him, no matter how agreeable he seems to be (vv. 3–5); and the merchants won’t want to buy him from you (v. 6). If you try to train him, you’ll quit in a hurry and never try to do it again![5]
Job 41:10-11 (NASB)
10 "No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me?
11 "Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
· The Bible has varying references to Leviathan help us to get the kind of complex picture that we need of God’s sovereignty over evil. God put evil down at creation (how there came to be evil that God had to deal with way back then is not a question the Bible answers) and in delivering Israel from Egypt, which becomes a kind of embodiment of Leviathan.
o For that reason, there is a sense in which we need not take its threatening nature too seriously; we can smile at it. But experience shows that God did not put down evil in such a way as to make evil totally incapable of asserting itself; it may be constrained, but it is not eliminated.
o Hence the promise that God will one day complete its subjugation. (Oddly, we might think, the picture of the adversary, the satan, in the opening of Job does not correspond to the picture of Satan in later Jewish writings and in the New Testament, but the picture of Leviathan comes much closer to doing so. In other words, Leviathan in the Old Testament corresponds to Satan in the New Testament.)
· God’s challenge to Job takes a coherent place within this outline. You could say that evil is a little like a powerful creature that God has put on a leash. Its power is constrained but not eliminated.
o Again, why God should have put evil on a leash rather than simply destroying evil is not a question that the Bible deals with, though we may be able to guess at answers.
o When human irresponsibility causes terrible catastrophe, why does God not prevent it? Maybe part of the explanation is that it would destroy the reality of human responsibility. We noted in connection with chapter 12 that God did not make the world as a place where we simply relax and enjoy ourselves but as a place where we grow to maturity by accepting responsibility for our actions.
o Our having to deal with evil (by turning from it) fulfills a similar function. Yet the Bible does not make this point (it is the kind of theory Elihu might have expounded), and one of the points of the book of Job is to discuss the issues raised by our living in a world where we do not have answers to the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
· We know why bad things happened to Job, but the book of Job presupposes that his story is not everyone’s story, which may link with the fact that God never tells Job about the background and purpose behind his experience.
o While this knowledge might have been helpful to Job, revealing it to him would not have been so helpful to us.
o Giving us insight on how to live without knowing why things happen to us is more helpful.
§ The key is recognizing that God is trustworthy, so we can live in trust and submission to God even when we do not know why bad things happen to us.
§ The chapter about Leviathan plays a role in pushing Job (and thus us) in that direction. It draws attention to the fearsome might of this embodiment of threatening power and invites us to recognize that (a) we cannot control it and (b) God can and does. Those two facts are reason for trust and submission.
· Yahweh’s two confrontational addresses to Job as a whole, then, seek to establish two points.
o They point out that Job is not the center of the universe; it does not revolve around him.
o They argue that Yahweh does not do too bad a job of controlling forces that resist Yahweh’s purpose in the world, and that Job himself could hardly do a better one. Yahweh then leaves him to draw the implications regarding his suffering.[6]
Thoughts to soak on submitted by J. Vernon McGee
· “Job, what do you really know about this great monster of the sea?” Today they are making a study of the great whales off the coast of California. They are doing many things, trying to find out about them. We’ve come a long way since the days of Job, and we still don’t know all about those big fellows that are in the water.
· What do we know about dinosaurs? I have heard this whimsy about the guide in the museum who gave a lecture to the crowd. When they came to the dinosaur he said, “This dinosaur is two million and six years old.” A man came up to him and said, “Wait a minute. I’ll accept the two million years, but where do you get the six years?” The guide answered, “Well, when I came to work here, that dinosaur was two million years old. I’ve been here six years now. So the dinosaur is now two million and six years old.”
· I ask again: what do we really know about dinosaurs? You can ask any real scholar in any field, and he will admit that he is no authority—he hasn’t mastered his field. He will frankly say that he is just beginning to learn.
· May I say to you that no man is in any position to pass judgment on God. That is what God told Job way back then at the dawn of history.[7]
Job 42:1-6 (NASB)
1 Then Job answered the LORD and said,
2 "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' "Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."
4 'Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.'
5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes."
· Vs. 42:1–2. In Job’s first response (40:3–5) he admitted his finiteness in the face of God’s display of numerous wonders of nature above, on, and under the earth. But he did not admit to God’s sovereignty or to his own sin of pride. Job now confessed those two things in his second reply. Overwhelmed by the strength and fierceness of the behemoth and the leviathan, Job sensed his own inadequacy to conquer and control evil, which they represented. He therefore saw anew the greatness of God’s power and sovereignty. Job’s words I know that You can do all things point up the folly of his questioning God’s ability to govern the universe. Job’s efforts to thwart (lit., “cut off”) God’s plan were now seen as futile.
· Vs. 42:3. Job quoted God’s question Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? to infer that God was right. Job had spoken without knowledge (as Elihu had said, 34:35; 35:16); he talked about things beyond his comprehension, things too wonderful(cf. “wonders” in 37:14) or awesome in creation for him to know. Job now discarded his complaints about God’s inability to rule the world with justice. The idea that he could boldly refute any of God’s trumped-up charges (23:4–7; 31:35–36) was now abandoned.
· Vs. 42:4–5. Job quoted the Lord, this time citing God’s challenge at the beginning of each of His two speeches (38:3; 40:7): I will question you, and you shall instruct me.
o This quotation implied an admission that Job was unable to answer any of the Sovereign’s barrage of rhetorical questions. Job admitted to flunking God’s biology examinations.
o Job had only heard of God’s doings. The complainer was not an eyewitness of the act of Creation, a fact God called to his attention near the beginning of His first speech (38:4–11). Nor could Job even view firsthand many aspects of natural Creation (38:16–24; 39:1–4).His perspective of God’s total workings was therefore limited and secondhand.
· Vs. 5 But now that Job was addressed directly by God, this experience exceeded his previous knowledge, like seeing (now my eyes have seen You) compared with hearing.
o This thrilling view of God, probably spiritual insight, not physical vision, deepened his perspective and appreciation of God. What Job now knew of God was incomparable to his former ideas, which were really ignorant. This personal confrontation with God silenced his arguing and deepened his awe.
· Vs. 42:6. Having gained insight (v. 5) into God’s ways and character—His creative power and genius, His sovereign control, and His providential care and love—Job confessed his own unworthiness and repented. I retract means he rejected his former accusations of God spoken in pride.
o God had already rebuked Job for indicting, faulting, and discrediting Him (40:2).
o Job then repented in dust and ashes, a way of expressing his self-deprecation (cf. Gen. 18:27). Throwing dust in the air so that it came down on one’s head (cf. Job 2:12) and sitting in or near ashes or with ashes on one’s body (cf. 2:8; Isa. 58:5; Dan. 9:3) were signs of a humbled condition. Having grieved over his losses, Job now grieved over his sin.
· Obviously he did not repent of the sins which his three friends had conjured up. He stuck persistently to his position that his suffering was not merited by pre-calamity sins (Job 27:2–6).
o But, as Elihu had pointed out, bitterness and pride had followed his loss of wealth, family, and health (32:2; 33:17; 35:12–13; 36:9; 37:24). At first, however, Job’s response was proper (1:21–22; 2:10). Job now saw, as God had challenged him (40:10), that no one can stand accusingly against Him. Realizing that God is not obligated to man, Job’s questions vanished and his resentment left.
o He was now satisfied, for God had communicated with him about His own person, not about Job’s problems. Now Job was willing to trust the Sovereign, whose ways are perfect (Ps. 18:30), even when he could not understand. Undoubtedly God forgave him of his former sin of pride.[8]
· And repent in dust and ashes: It was right for Job to repent. He had done nothing to invite the crisis that came into his life; the reasons for that crisis were rooted in the contention between God and Satan as recorded in Job 1 and 2. Yet he did have to repent of his bad words and bad attitude afterthe crisis; both for excessively giving into despair in Job 3 and for his unwise and intemperate speech as he contended with his companions.
o It is important to note that Job did notgive into his friends and admit that they had been right all along. That simply was not true. The sins Job repented of here were both general sins, common to all men, which seemed all the darker in the presence of God yet were not the cause of the catastrophe that came into his life; and they were sins committed after the catastrophe came.
o What did Job have to repent of? In his sermon, Job Among the Ashes, Charles Spurgeon suggested several things:
§ Job repented of the terrible curse he had pronounced upon the day of his birth.
§ Job repented of his desire to die.
§ Job repented of his complaints against and challenges to God.
§ Job repented of his despair.
§ Job repented that his statements had been a “darkening of wisdom by words without knowledge”; that he spoke beyond his knowledge and ability to know.
o One might say that these words of Job—words of humble repentance and submission before God, for sins that were greatly provoked, sins that come from the godly and not from the wicked—these words that contain no curse of God whatsoever—these words ended the contest between God and Satan, and demonstrated that the victory belonged to God and to Job.
o God’s confidence in Job’s faith was completely vindicated. “Job is vindicated in a faith in God’s goodness that has survived a terrible deprivation and, indeed, grown in scope, unsupported by Israel’s historical creed or the mighty acts of God, unsupported by life in the covenant community, unsupported by cult institutions, unsupported by revealed knowledge from the prophets, unsupported by tradition, and contradicted by experience. Next to Jesus, Job must surely be the greatest believer in the whole Bible.” (Andersen)
o Simply put, “Without anger toward him, God allowed Job to suffer in order to humiliate the Accuser and proved support to countless sufferers who would follow in Job’s footsteps.” (Smick) This was now accomplished.[9]
In summary of verses 4-6
· Finally, in verses 4–6 Job echoes God’s introductory challenge to both speeches: “I will question you, and you make it known to me” (see 38:3; 40:7), prefixing the echo with the words, “Hear, and I will speak” (v. 4).
· His focus now is on what he “heard” when God spoke. In one of the most famous verses in the book, Job contrasts a previous hearing with a new seeing (v. 5).
o Before the terrible events of this book, Job’s knowledge of God was “by the hearing of the ear” (v. 5). In the context of the book, this must refer to the framework of understanding that he shared with the comforters and with so many morally serious philosophers and theologians throughout history.
o He has heard the traditions of these people; the assured results of their traditional understanding had come into his ears from childhood. He had heard that there was one Almighty God, that this God was righteous and all-powerful, and that therefore certain things might be expected, morally, in the world by way of crime and punishment, virtue and reward.
o All this he had heard “by the hearing of the ear.” “But now my eye sees you” (v. 5). On the face of it this is a strange thing to say after God has given him word-portraits of two terrible creatures, the Behemoth, and the Leviathan.
o He has had no mystical vision of God; a radiant vision has not been granted to him. Rather he has seen in his imagination two terrible beasts or monsters.
o He has not had Isaiah’s later vision of the Lord lifted up in the temple (Isaiah 6) or Ezekiel’s strange vision of the Lord on his chariot throne (e.g., Ezekiel 1).
o He has not literally seen anyone or anything.
o He is still on his rubbish heap licking his wounds, surrounded by unhelpful comforters and the challenging presence of the prophet Elihu.
§ And yet, as he has heard the Lord’s words (by whatever psychological or physical mechanism they might have come), he has seen the Lord with a clarity he has not approached before.
§ And in response to this aural vision (for it is a vision that enters him through his ears) he repents (v. 6), for the first and only time in the book. He not only admits he has spoken what he ought not to have spoken—he turns from these words and repents in deep contrition for his sin.
§ It is an extraordinary and surprising response from the man who has steadfastly refused to repent of the supposed sins of which the comforters have repeatedly accused him. Clearly it signals a climax in the book.[10]
Thoughts to soak on to enjoy the moment we have seen with Job
· The term recant /retract (niḥam) means to turn from a planned course of action and take up a new course. It implies the strongest resolve to change direction, but not an attitude of remorse. It is affirmative action based on conviction. In recanting Job surrenders to God the last vestige of his self-righteousness, i.e., he withdraws his avowal of innocence. From now on he will locate his self-worth in his relationship with Yahweh, not in his own moral behavior or innocence. Thus, Job commits his fate into God’s hands knowing that he can bear any fate, for he has seen Yahweh.
· Filled with wonder and awe at Yahweh’s appearing, Job confesses his own unworthiness. His attention shifts from his concern for vindication to his need to prepare his heart before God. The integrity of Job’s faith shines brightly. He humbles himself before God because communion with God is more important to him than release from his affliction. It has not been wrong for him to complain, even against God himself. Nor has it been wrong for him to swear an oath of innocence. But the zealous pursuit of a right eventually erects a barrier between God and the offended person.
· Therefore, when God makes himself known, the supplicant must surrender everything to God, including his just grievances, if he is to avoid sinning and to find God’s favor again. Thus, Job renounces all personal claims that could be construed to put himself above God. In humility he glorifies God.[11]
So let’s take a look at Grace for a moment
· It is in grace that God made himself known to Job. So, Job is satisfied. He has not received a direct answer, but he has seen the Lord. He had feared, as many of us do when we are depressed, that though it will turn out all right for others, we are the exception.
· We fear that we have fallen through some hole in the universe, beyond the reach of grace, beyond the world of God, beyond the Creator’s control. Job thought he had fallen through a gap in the Creator’s management of the world. But now he is reassured.
· The Creator is holding all things by the word of His power; nothing—not even the silly ostrich or the terrible monsters—are outside his gracious hand.
· So Job can rest secure, and live with his questions being unanswered.
o In God, power, justice and wisdom are all aspects of one and the same divine character, so Job can let the matter rest in faith within the mystery of God.
o Faith, we said, is what God gives us to help us live with uncertainties.[12] Forsaking All I Trust Him😊
The closing prayer from George W. Truett, The Ministry of Suffering
Our blessed Heavenly Father, bind the word that each of us needs to hear and heed upon our deepest heart. May we walk like we ought, in our day and generation, for the glory of God. May our tempers and deeds be always such as shall cause the people to take knowledge of us that we are Christ’s, and that we delight above all else to do His holy will. May we always have that mind which was in Christ. And, O, by example as well as by word, let us glorify Christ continually, each of us, till life’s day is done. Bring the one that is in the darkness here to-day just to stay all on God, and everything shall be well. Teach us that no matter what the darkness that may come the trial, the tears, the disappointments to beat us into the dust, and no matter what the fearful surprise, the sore wrenching of the heart, the awful bitterness of spirit, no matter what- God’s grace is and shall ever be sufficient for us. And let all these men and women say: “We will trust Him, though He slay us, and today we will cling to Him with new trust and new hope and new passion and purpose in obeying His will.”
[1] Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Job, vol. 2, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2013), 321–322.
[2]Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Job, vol. 2 (London: Blackie & Son, 1847), 240–241.
[3]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Job, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2010), 271.
[4] John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 525.
[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Patient, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 151–152.
[6] John Goldingay, Job for Everyone, 1st ed., Old Testament for Everyone (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press; Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2013), 204–205.
[7] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: Poetry (Job), electronic ed., vol. 16 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 186.
[8] Roy B. Zuck, “Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 773–774.
[9]David Guzik, Job, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2007), Job 42:4–6.
[10]Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 416–417.
[11]John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 537.
[12]David Atkinson, The Message of Job: Suffering and Grace, ed. J. A. Motyer and Derek Tidball, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), 156.