The Book of Job-Chapter Thirty-Eight: "The Lord
Answers Job"
Throughout this entire study all
Job's friends have been letting him down.
Why? Well, my view has been that they were too afraid and
too concerned about their own lives and well-being to
provide real comfort. In fact, even the strongest of us
today can never fully spiritually counsel and comfort
another person adequately. Even at our best we too are
distracted by our own short-comings to be fully relied upon.
But our purpose is not to
vilify Job's friends or modern
Christian Counselors. The point is
that each individual today, just
like Job back then, must ultimately seek their deepest
comfort from the Lord Himself. He is not afraid, or
distracted by selfishness and doubt. His counsel stands apart, perfect for us.
Verses
1-2: "Then
the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is
this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"
Satan had
sabotaged Job's relationship with the Lord through
falsehood, divisiveness and innuendo (his methods have
apparently not changed much over time). God is always ready
to listen, and communicate, but Job has been so disturbed
and up-ended by events. What about us? Even today with a
Personal Savior in the Person of Jesus Christ, a New and
Better Covenant sealed for us at Calvary, and the coming of
the Great Comforter in the Person of the Indwelling Holy
Spirit, we STILL can be toyed with by Satan as was Job. In
fact, with all it's advantages today isn't the Church yet
full of "miserable counselors" and the miserable?
Yes, the battle to find hope annd
solace in the face of earthly suffering rages on today. I can feel
it in me even now. It is better to turn to God fully and
quickly in tough times, but Job, like me too often, was not
quite able to do that. Not right away. Instead, with
misinformation from his friends, he became wary of the Lord
and weary of the effort to understand Him. Devilish lies
compounded by our own weaknesses can leave us spiritually
wary and weary too.
And listening to the voice of the God here, it almost sounds
like explaining and justifying Himself to us may weary Him:
Verses
3-4: "Gird up now thy loins like a man;
for I will demand of thee, and answer thou
me. Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
declare, if thou hast understanding."
Job never cursed God as was
predicted, but he has QUESTIONED the Lord, questioned
events, even questioned the wisdom of God allowing his
birth! Did Job have a right to ask all that? Do you
and I?
Verses
5-6: "Who
hath laid the measures thereof, if
thou knowest? or who hath stretched
the line upon it? Whereupon are the
foundations thereof fastened? or who
laid the corner stone thereof;" Man and all the earth's creatures
are not the only beings God has made: Verse
7: "When
the morning
stars sang
together, and
all the sons
of God shouted
for joy?"
Was Satan in this groupp, a legitimate member at the time? In many of these areas
we are as unenlightened as Job. We all need the
Lord's protection and in one way or
another seek His blessings in order to
prosper. But
we need to
understand Him too. And to appreciate
Him apart, if
necessary, from earthly gains.
But in suffering
we sometimes talk at Him or over
Him, refusing to consider His goals and responsibilities:
Verses 8-11: "Or who
shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it
had issued out of the womb? When I
made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a
swaddlingband for it, And
brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come,
but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?"
The
Lord
defends Himself here by listing His works. Works He alone could and can do.
Works that qualify Him to order and administrate all domains and beings:
Verses
12-15: "Hast thou commanded the morning
since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his
place; That
it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the
wicked might be shaken out of it? It
is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a
garment. And from the wicked their light is
withholden, and the high arm shall be broken."
What
we
theorize and
observe in
part, He
retains
forever and
keeps at
His
absolute
disposal:
Verses
16-21: "Hast
thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou
walked in the search of the depth? Have
the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou
seen the doors of the shadow of death? Hast
thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou
knowest it all. Where
is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness,
where is the place thereof, That
thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou
shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? Knowest thou it, because thou wast
then born? or because the number of thy days is great?"
We
can make
calendars, but
we don't
control the
time they
measure.
The
power to
question (even
to question
Him) is a
gracious
allowance
to
us, an
expression of
His mercy.
How ironic
that
we would use
it to rebel? And
it's
not just atheists
I'm
talking about. It's
all of us,
especially in
difficult
times.
Verses
22-27: "Hast thou entered into the treasures
of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Which I
have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day
of battle and war? By what
way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind
upon the earth? Who
hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters,
or a way for the lightning of thunder; To
cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the
wilderness, wherein there is no man; To
satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the
bud of the tender herb to spring forth?"
Considering
the power gap,
the
Lord's opening
remarks
to Job are
not as
harsh as they
first
appear. Pointed
comments for
sure, but
really
teaching
questions. A
personally
customized
guide to
restore
clarity to this
man whose mind
and faith have
been fogged by
terror and
pain.
Our
God is a
Teacher, but
are we
teachable when
times are as
dark as Job's
had become?
Verses
28-30: "Hath
the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Out of
whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven,
who hath gendered it? The
waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep
is frozen."
And
the "Father of
the Rain" is
Our Father,
too. Just
because He
doesn't DO
EVERYTHING we
want or
instantly EXPLAIN
EVERYTHING we
question does
not mean He
has
abandoned
us. Having
communication
problems is
not the same
as being disowned, but
it can feel
that way. I
think it had for
Job.
There
is a nagging
similarity between
God's actual
answer to Job
here and some
of the
descriptions of
the Lord that
Job and His
friends have
offered us in
past chapters. These
fellas weren't
totally wrong
about God. Now we are
being told
directly that
the Lord IS HIGHER
than any of
us and
WAY beyond
all of us...
He
commands the
stars (Mazzaroth
refers to what
we call the
Zodiac
constellation
ring):
Verses 31-33:
"Canst
thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the
bands of Orion? Canst
thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou
guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest
thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion
thereof in the earth?
He
commands the
atmosphere and
the weather:
Verses 34-35:
"Canst
thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of
waters may cover thee? Canst thou send lightnings, that they
may go and say unto thee, Here we are?"
He
also sets
up and
maintains the
nature
and limits
of all human
knowledge and
science:
Verses 36-38: "Who hath put
wisdom in the inner parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? Who can
number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles
of heaven, When the dust groweth into hardness,
and the clods cleave fast together?"
Have
you ever
withheld the
rain or
brought relief
from drought?
Is that within
your ability?
Verses 39-41:
"Wilt
thou hunt the
prey for the
lion? or fill
the appetite
of the young
lions, When they couch in
their dens,
and abide in
the covert to
lie in wait? Who
provideth for
the raven his
food? when his
young ones cry
unto God, they
wander for
lack of meat."
The
squawks of
those
baby
ravens are
actually
prayers.
And
they cry out
to Him, not to
any of us.
Can
you do ANY
of these
things,
beloved? I
can't! So
were
Job's friends
right then? Should
the Lord's
superiority
terrorize us?
Does He have a
natural disdain
for our
needs? Is
He rightfully disinterested
in our
problems as
we might be
with those of
a gnat?
And what if we
rebel or stray
from His
designs for us
either by
accident or
intentionally?
Is human
suffering
His answer to
all our disobedience?
With all His
power, are
works and
rewards with
high anxiety
the only
relationship
we can have
with Him?
These
questions have
been haunting our
entire study.
Remember at
one point how
Job
cried out for
a "Daysman"
(see chapter
9) or mediator
who could establish
and maintain
a fair and
open relationship
between him
and the Lord
of All
Things. Now
that we are
hearing from
God the Father
directly, it's
almost overpowering? Was
it unpalatable
for Job
to hear these
Words directly
from God
?
God the
Father Who
must
create and
re-create and
administrate
and execute
EVERY
detail of the
universe all
the time, throughout
all time.
Who must listen
to conflicting prayers from multiple beings - none of which can completely
comprehend all the ramifications of their own requests. None of which can
ever see the FULL overview from His perspective?
Of
course Job,
though he
cried out for
a
mediator,
could
not be aware
of Christ, God
the Son, as we
are.
Does that make
Job's story
obsolete to
us? Can
we just ignore
these
difficult
ancient
lessons and only
flee to more
familiar New
Testament
quotes of
comfort from our
Savior?
If we
do it will be
at our own
loss. Our
love for
Christ is not
an excuse to
ignore the Counsel
or the Person
of God in
the Old Testament.
If you doubt
that then
read these
New Testament
quotes from the
"Daysman,"
Himself (see
John 10:30
and John
14:6-11).
The Lord will be saying more to Job, and to his friends, and hopefully to us
when our study continues.
Throughout this entire study all
Job's friends have been letting him down.
Why? Well, my view has been that they were too afraid and
too concerned about their own lives and well-being to
provide real comfort. In fact, even the strongest of us
today can never fully spiritually counsel and comfort
another person adequately. Even at our best we too are
distracted by our own short-comings to be fully relied upon.
But our purpose is not to
vilify Job's friends or modern
Christian Counselors. The point is
that each individual today, just
like Job back then, must ultimately seek their deepest
comfort from the Lord Himself. He is not afraid, or
distracted by selfishness and doubt. His counsel stands apart, perfect for us.