DBG - June 16 - Job 38-42

In this chapter God addresses Job and displays His might.

vs. 1-3 – Job had lamented that God had not answered him in 31:35.  God has remained silent through the debates between Job and his friends.  Now, He answers Job and calls him to account for his words.  God speaking out of a cloud or whirlwind is a common theme, see Exodus 19:18, Numbers 9:15-16, I Kings 19:11, and Ezekiel 1:4.  That mighty storm that Elihu had described previously is now before them and the thunder of it is the voice of God.

vs. 4-38 – God’s first message to Job is to reinforce His might and to humble Job.  Who was a man like Job when compared to the almighty God?  Did he create the world?  Was he even there to witness it?  Does he control the weather and uphold the world?  Man is nothing compared to the infinite God.  Note in vs. 31-32 that constellations are mentioned.

vs. 39-41 – God continues illustrating His power but shifts to the animal world.  Did Job feed the lions and ravens?  God did not just maintain the physical world; He personally cared for the life within it. 

In this chapter God continues to display His might.

vs. 1-18 – God continues to display His through his care for the animal kingdom.  Did Job feed these or cause them to give birth?  Wild goats, donkeys, unicorns, and ostriches are used in this passage.   Much like with “dragons” in 30:29, there is debate as to the identity of the unicorn (literally means “one horn”) in vs. 9.  This is, like the dragon we dealt with before, not the mythological creature associated with that name today.  In Hebrew it is called a re’em (Strong’s H7214), and it was translated in the Greek Septuagint as monoceres (literally means “one horn”).  The three main theories about its identity are that is it is a rhinoceros, a type of antelope, or an extinct cattle called aurochs.  Personally, I am fine with either a rhinoceros or an aurochs.  I have checked and either is historically plausible.

vs. 19-30 – God continues to display His through his care for the animal kingdom.  Now He turns to horses, hawks, and eagles. 

In this chapter God continues to display His might and challenges Job to match it.

vs. 1-2 – Now that God has established His infinite superiority over mortal men, He asks Job pointed if he though he could teach God anything. 

vs. 3-5 – Job is utterly silenced before God’s majesty.  He acknowledges his error and submits to hear God without attempting to make his case against Him.

vs. 6-14 – God has already established His greatness, now He challenges Job to do the same.  He calls on Job to be as great as He is and to do the work that only He can do.  It is a further humiliation of Job.

vs. 15-24 – God now appeals again to the animal kingdom by pointing to the behemoth (a transliteration of the Hebrew H930).  Here again we have a creature that is difficult to positively identify.  Some believe this to be an elephant or rhinoceros, if we are to be limited to creatures alive today.  All the other descriptions made of animals in this book are very accurate with what we know of them.  Frankly, this description does not quite fit any living beast today.  I think it is very likely a dinosaur, which died out after Noah’s flood because the environment had changed so drastically (Reese’s Chronological Bible places Job about 650 years after the Flood).  It is too deep of a conversation to have in this setting, so I will recommend to you this article from Answers in Genesis.

In this chapter God continues to display His might.

vs. 1-34 – God now points to another creature that is difficult to identify.  Leviathan (transliteration of Strong’s H3882) is used as an example of a beast too great for man to tame, yet God controls it with ease.  It is sometimes identified as a crocodile, but once again we have trouble finding a living animal today that matches all of the descriptions. It is said, in part, to be captured by a hook like a fish (vs. 1), has a thick hide of scales (vs. 13-15), has sharp teeth (vs. 14), and lives along rivers (vs. 30).  These could be a crocodile, but other details do not, such as: it frightens the mightiest of men (vs. 25), is king over other beasts (vs. 34), and breathes fire (vs. 18-21).  I think this is a likely case for another animal that was alive in Job’s day but extinct today, possibly another dinosaur.  Here is an article at Answers in Genesis that goes more in depth on this topic.

In this chapter Job repents and God blesses him.

vs. 1-6 – Job’s attitude is changed after his encounter with God.  He confesses the greatness of God and humbles himself before Him.  He admits he spoke ignorantly out of pride.  Now he humbly submits to God.  He no longer requires explanation for what has happened.  He no longer desires to present his defense before God.  He repents of his sins he committed in reacting to the suffering sent by God.  He now completely surrenders himself to God and mourns his sin.

vs. 7-9 – God now turns to Job’s three friends and directs them to repent and offer sacrifices to Him.  There are two things of note here.  First, that God places Job in a mediatorial position with his friends, requiring him to pray on their behalf to find forgiveness.  Second, that Elihu is not numbered among them in the rebuke, likely because of all of them he had been the nearest to right and did not falsely accuse Job.

vs. 10-17 – God returns to blessing Job as soon as he prayed for his friends.  He is not only restored to his previous state, but also graciously increased.  His possessions doubled from the list in Chapter 1.  He has another 10 children, the same number as he lost.  We note the beautiful names given to the three daughters: Jemima (dove), Kezia (cassia plant), and Kerenhappuch (horn of beauty).  Also noted is that in a time when property only passed down in inheritance to male descendants, the three daughters of Job are included in the division.  He lives another 140 years, which some interpret to be a doubling of his age when the book began.  He lives a blessed and peaceful life for the rest of his days.

At last we have come to the end of the Book of Job.  It is a difficult book to read through and to study.  It requires diligent effort and time meditating on its contents.  I hope that you see how priceless this record is, even to us today.  Life is hard.  Bad things happen.  Sometimes we act like Job’s friends and think we have all the answers.  Sometimes we are Job trying to grope our way through the darkest of nights in search of some hope or purpose in our circumstances.  The message of the book is the closing chapters when God speaks.  He is in control.  He works for good, even when horrible things occur.  Our best response to the trials of life are to seek refuge in Him and trust in His strengthening hand.  We do not have to understand, we just have to have faith in the One who does.

Our hymn today is “My God, My God, To Thee I Cry” by Charles Wesley.  The final verses are clearly inspired by Job’s confession in Chapter 42.

My God, My God, To Thee I Cry,
Thee Only Would I Know;
Thy Purifying Blood Apply,
And Wash Me White As Snow.

Touch Me, And Make The Leper Clean;
Purge My Iniquity;
Unless Thou Wash My Soul From Sin,
I Have No Part In Thee.

But Art Thou Not Already Mine?
Answer, If Mine Thou Art!
Whisper Within, Thou Love Divine,
And Cheer My Drooping Heart.

Tell Me Again My Peace Is Made,
And Bid The Sinner Live;
The Debt’s Discharged, The Ransom’s Paid,
My Father Must Forgive.

Behold, For Me The Victim Bleeds,
His Wounds Are Opened Wide;
For Me The Blood Of Sprinkling Pleads,
And Speaks Me Justified.

O Why Did I My Saviour Leave?
So Soon Unfaithful Prove!
How Could I Thy Good Spirit Grieve,
And Sin Against Thy Love?

I Forced Thee First To Disappear,
I Turned Thy Face Aside;
Ah, Lord! If Thou Hadst Still Been Here,
Thy Servant Had Not Died.

But O, How Soon Thy Wrath Is O’er,
And Pardoning Love Takes Place!
Assist Me, Saviour, To Adore
The Riches Of Thy Grace.

O Could I Lose Myself In Thee,
Thy Depth Of Mercy Prove,
Thou Vast, Unfathomable Sea
Of Unexhausted Love!

My Humbled Soul, When Thou Art Near,
In Dust And Ashes Lies;
How Shall A Sinful Worm Appear,
Or Meet Thy Purer Eyes?

I Loathe Myself When God I See,
And Into Nothing Fall;
Content If Thou Exalted Be,
And Christ Be In My All.