Day 130: God Responds to Job

*Job 38:1-41

God himself responds to Job from the whirlwind, demonstrating his power and questioning Job’s knowledge.

  • The Lord’s Response:
    • After Job and his friends have engaged in lengthy debates and discussions regarding the nature of suffering and the righteousness of God, the Lord finally responds to Job out of the whirlwind.
    • The Lord’s response begins with a series of questions posed to Job, challenging him to consider the vastness and complexity of creation and the limitations of human understanding.
  • Questioning Job’s Knowledge:
    • The Lord questions Job about his knowledge of the foundations of the earth, the dimensions of the universe, and the laws of nature.
    • He asks Job if he was present when the foundations of the earth were laid, or if he knows who determined its measurements and set its limits.
  • Illustrating Divine Sovereignty:
    • Through a series of rhetorical questions, the Lord emphasizes His sovereignty and power over creation, highlighting His role as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
    • He describes His control over the elements of nature, including the sea, the clouds, the dawn, and the stars, demonstrating His authority over all aspects of the natural world.

Job 38:1-41 reminds us that God is far greater than we can understand. When Job questioned his suffering, God answered by showing His power over all creation. This teaches us that even when we don’t have all the answers, we can trust that God does. Life doesn’t always make sense, but God sees the bigger picture. Instead of focusing on what we don’t know, we can find peace in knowing that God is in control and His wisdom is greater than ours.

Job 38:1-41 (WEB)

38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
for I will question you, then you answer me!
 
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 What were its foundations fastened on?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
 
8 “Or who shut up the sea with doors,
when it broke out of the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment,
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 marked out for it my bound,
set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘You may come here, but no further.
Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
 
12 “Have you commanded the morning in your days,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal,
and presented as a garment.
15 From the wicked, their light is withheld.
The high arm is broken.
 
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the earth in its width?
Declare, if you know it all.
 
19 “What is the way to the dwelling of light?
As for darkness, where is its place,
20 that you should take it to its bound,
that you should discern the paths to its house?
21 Surely 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 against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the lightning distributed,
or the east wind scattered on the earth?
 
25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water,
or the path for the thunderstorm,
26 to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man,
on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
to cause the tender grass to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29 Whose womb did the ice come out of?
Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen.
 
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead the constellations out in their season?
Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
 
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts?
Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
38 when the dust runs into a mass,
and the clods of earth stick together?
 
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens,
and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven his prey,
when his young ones cry to God,
and wander for lack of food?