May 7, 2015.

Daily Reading: Job 38-39.

Background: Job 35-37.

Concepts and Connections.

Chapter 38

God speaks out of the whirlwind: After a long collection of dialog back and forth between Job and his friends, Job finally gets his wish: and audience with God. The old adage might be fitting here, however, as Job really should have been more careful about what he wished for. Chapters 38-41 comprise one of the longest soliloquies of God that we have in the bible, and thus we can gain some great insight into His character, the way He thinks and our relationship to Him through this very important section of scripture. One of the first things to notice is the point that God makes from the beginning: Job has spoken out of place, for he has called for an audience with God to prove to God that he was innocent. God answers Job somewhat sarcastically: “Okay Job, since you are so wise, I’ll ask you these questions and you tell me what’s what.” Then God starts to rhetorically ask Job where he was when He laid the foundation of the earth, and created everything that is seen. This chapter focuses on the creation, the physical universe, together with all the elements that are seen and the heavens above. The monolog here exemplifies how big God is to have created a universe so large that we cannot comprehend. For God to have created it, He must be bigger than the universe itself (see also Jeremiah 23:24). Insights into nature and the universe itself (that would not have been known to man at this time) are revealed in this chapter, as the One who created it all is speaking of His own creation that He knows intimately. He speaks of the springs of the sea, and the recesses of the deep. He talks about the constellations and the rules that the heavily bodies abide by. He impresses on Job the vastness of the earth itself. It is true that we serve an Almighty, infinite God who has designed this magnificent universe with detail that we could only to ever fully understand.

Chapter 39

God sovereignty over nature: After God impresses on Job His power and vastness, He turns to the animal kingdom that He has created and discusses His sovereignty over it. Again, He is teaching (or rebuking) Job through rhetorical questions about nature, questions that Job would not be able to answer (but He would certainly know the answer). He talks about gestation period of the goat and the ability (or lack thereof) to domesticate the wild ox, the actions of the ostrich and the might of the horse. Throughout this monolog, there is an subtle underlying implication that all of these actions are only made possible though God. He continues to make the point that He is Almighty, whereas Job is a man. It is important that Job (and we) understand the relationship between God and man from a practical standpoint. God reigns supreme, and we are simply part of His creation. At the same time, however, the very fact that God is answering Job here shows His compassion for us and His desire to have a relationship with us. We love Him because He first loved us (see I John 4:19).

Tomorrow’s Reading: Jeremiah 27-31.

All praise to the King.

-Walter