God Reveals His Omnipotence to Job
February 14, 2022
Commentary
A good teacher begins where the student is and moves to where he wants to bring him. Notice that God begins with Job right where they left off in nature. A storm is coming up, and He breaks in as the Creator. Out of the whirlwind, God speaks (v. 1). He probably did this because man couldn’t survive a face to face confrontation with Him. He suggested that He had a purpose in Job’s afflictions, even though Job had misinterpreted the reason (v. 2). God’s address to Job is centered on His works in nature, and consists of seventy-seven questions interspersed with divine comments relating to the questions. The purpose of this interrogation was to make Job realize his inadequacy to meet God as an equal and defend his cause. Job thought he knew about God, he didn’t realize how much he didn’t know.
The first series of questions deals with God’s power and wisdom in bringing the universe into being (vv. 1-38). He asks if Job can explain His creation of the earth. He compares Himself to a builder who surveys the site, marks off the dimensions, pours the footings, lays the cornerstone, and erects the structure (vv. 3-7). He then moves to a consideration of the seas and who made these (vv. 8-11). The next aspect of creation mentioned is the sun (vv. 12-15). The next eleven questions relate to the vast dimensions of creation (vv. 16-24). He inquires about Job’s experience with the abode of the deep and his knowledge of Sheol (vv. 16-17). Did he know how far down he had to go to find the ocean’s floor? (The record measured so far is 6.78 miles). God asked Job if he could calculate the reaches of the east and west (v. 18) or if he understood the heights where snow and hail are stored until God needs them (vv. 22-23), or the places where God keeps His lightening and winds (v. 24).
Application
Knowledge of my own ignorance is the first step toward true wisdom. Rather than asking God to justify or even explain His actions, I need to trust Him, whether I can understand His actions or not.
Job 38:1– 24 (NET)
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?
3 Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you and you will inform me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding.
5 Who set its measurements—if you know— or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone—
7 when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst forth, coming out of the womb,
9 when I made the storm clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 when I prescribed its limits, and set in place its bolts and doors,
11 when I said, ‘To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined’?
12 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place,
13 that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features are dyed like a garment.
15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm raised in violence is broken.
16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?
18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know it all.
19 “In what direction does light reside, and darkness, where is its place,
20 that you may take them to their borders and perceive the pathways to their homes?
21 You know, for you were born before them; and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, or seen the armory of the hail,
23 which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
24 In what direction is lightning dispersed, or the east winds scattered over the earth?
Illustration: Buddhist Priest Asks a Favour of The Ambassador to China
Winston Load, an assistant Secretary of State and ambassador to China, tells about the time he and his wife, Bette, were driving outside Beijing. “We came to a Buddhist temple, and the head monk came out and greeted us. His eyes lit up when he heard that I was the ambassador, and that my wife was a famous author. “The monk said, ‘Would you do this temple a great honor and favor for our future visitors, to guide and instruct them? Would you write something in English?’ “He then handed me two wooden plaques and said, ‘Would you write in English on this plaque the word Ladies, and on this plaque the word Gentlemen?’” (Encyclopedia of Illustrations – #5544).